WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Gender

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department of the results of publicly-funded research into gender differences in brain development and functioning.

Helen Grant: I have made no assessment of the implications for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the results of publicly-funded research into gender differences in brain development and functioning.

Gender: Discrimination

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many times gender discrimination in the maritime sector has been (a) reported to the Equal Opportunities Commission, (b) prosecuted and (c) penalised under the Equality Act 2010 since the Act came into force.

Helen Grant: In October 2007 the Equal Opportunities, Racial Equality and Disability Rights Commissions were merged to form the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and I have asked the commission to provide the information requested. The commission can only provide information on cases that have been referred to it, and does not hold information on any legal action that may have been taken independently on this issue by individuals. The commission's records of complaints received and cases taken to court do not specifically identify gender discrimination in the maritime sector. Providing a comprehensive and accurate response on the number of times this issue has been reported to the commission, cases prosecuted or penalties imposed would require a manual search of files and therefore could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

LGBT People

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to enable LGBT people in civil partnerships to convert these to marriages as defined in the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: Our priority has been to ensure that same-sex couples who were not currently in a civil partnership and who had been waiting to marry in order to formalise their relationship were able to do so as soon as possible. Therefore our focus has been on enabling marriages to take place and this happened several months earlier than anticipated. The first marriages of same-sex couples took place on 29 March 2014.
	We are working hard to ensure that couples wanting to convert their civil partnerships into marriages are able to do so as soon as possible. We aim to do this before the end of 2014.
	These aspects of implementing the Act take longer because they involve developing and implementing completely new procedures and processes. This contrasts with the work to make new marriages for same-sex couples possible, where we were able to build on existing processes so implementation was more straightforward.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, columns 611-2W, on electoral registration officers, which local authorities failed to meet performance standard 1 on using local government databases, in each year for which information is available.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) who did not meet performance standard 1 in each year from 2008 to 2010 are shown in the following list. No EROs have been assessed as not meeting this standard in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
	EROs not meeting Performance Standard 1
	2008
	Barnsley
	Berwick-upon-Tweed
	Blaby
	Blackburn with Darwen
	Brentwood
	Chester-le-street1
	Durham1
	Harborough
	Ipswich
	North East Derbyshire
	North Lanarkshire2
	Nottingham
	Sutton
	South Lanarkshire2
	Three Rivers
	Windsor and Maidenhead
	Weymouth and Portland
	Walsall
	2009
	Bradford
	Nottingham
	Sefton
	2010
	Barnsley
	Nottingham
	1 Chester-le Street and Durham are now part of County Durham unitary authority.
	2 North and South Lanarkshire are covered by one ERO
	The Electoral Commission also informs me that it published its report, titled “Readiness for the transition to Individual Electoral Registration”, which included its assessment of ERO performance in 2013, on 31 March 2014, and wrote to the hon. Member with a copy of the report. The report explains that all EROs reported that they were meeting or exceeding standard 1 in 2013, and that the Commission is in the process of conducting a detailed analysis of EROs' electoral registration data from the 2013 canvass, following which it will publish its final assessment of EROs' performance.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authorities have failed performance standard 3 on house-to-house enquiries; how many times they have failed; and how many times a Cabinet Office regional delivery manager has intervened.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that in 2013 five Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) reported that they did not meet performance standard 3: Mid Devon; Taunton Deane; Torridge; West Devon; and West Somerset. The following table shows the number of times these EROs have not met this standard.
	
		
			 Number of times those EROS not meeting standard 3 in 2013 have not met this standard 
			 ERO Number of times not met Years in which not met 
			 Mid Devon 4 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 
			 Taunton Deane 3 2011, 2012, 2013 
			 Torridge 2 2012, 2013 
			 West Devon 4 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 
			 West Somerset 4 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 
		
	
	The Commission is in the process of conducting a detailed analysis of EROs' electoral registration data from the 2013 canvass, following which it will publish its final assessment of EROs' performance in 2013.
	The Cabinet Office has established a network of regional delivery managers to monitor EROs' readiness for the transition to individual electoral registration in 2014. However, the Commission does not have specific details of the activities undertaken by these all of these officials.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many and what proportion of households which had a door step contact under performance standard 3 were called on (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three times in each local authority in the UK which passed that performance standard in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not collect information about the number of visits that Electoral Registration Officers' staff make to individual households as part of their activities to maintain the electoral registers.

Electoral Register: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with which (a) mobile telephone companies, (b) voluntary groups and (c) travel card providers the Electoral Commission is working to improve registration rates of young people.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it continues to work to identify partners for its work on IER. As agreements are put in place, it will make these available on its website and will inform the hon. Member when the first batch is published.

Electoral Register: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 620W, on the electoral register, what progress the Electoral Commission has made in improving registration rates of attainers; and what measures the Electoral Commission uses to judge its performance of increasing registration rates of attainers.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are responsible for maintaining the electoral register in their local areas. The Electoral Commission supports them in this work in a number of ways, including by targeting its performance standards to help ensure that they understand the particular challenges in their registration area and develop plans to address these and improve registration rates.
	The Commission refers the hon. Gentleman to its earlier reply of 29 January 2014 in which it outlined the steps it was taking to register attainers.
	It is not possible to isolate registration form downloads from the Commission's
	www.aboutmyvote.co.uk
	website by demographic, however it does regularly review what media channels are most used by attainers, for example Video On Demand (VOD). This ensures that its campaigns are targeted as effectively as possible.

Electoral Registration Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, columns 611-2W, on electoral registration officers, when the Electoral Commission will make available its final assessment of performance for 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it published its report, titled “Readiness for the transition to Individual Electoral Registration”, which included its assessment of ERO performance in 2013, on 31 March 2014, and tabled a written statement informing the House of this. It also wrote to the hon. Member with a copy of the report and placed a copy in the House of Commons Library. A copy of the Commission's statement can be found on the Parliament website:
	www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-vote-office/March_ 2014/31st-March-2014/14.Speakers-Performance-Standards.pdf
	The Commission informs me that it is in the process of carrying out a detailed analysis of EROs' electoral registration data from the 2013 canvass, following which it will publish its final assessment of EROs' performance in 2013.

Electoral Registration Officers: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which parliamentary constituencies in Scotland are part of local authority areas whose electoral registration officers did not reach the required performance indicators on Standard 3 in respect of electors who failed to register to vote.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that no EROs in Scotland reported not meeting standard 3 at the recent 2013 canvass. The Commission is in the process of conducting a detailed analysis of EROs' electoral registration data from the 2013 canvass, following which it will publish its final assessment of EROs' performance.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband: Rural Areas

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the economic effect of mobile internet services on the rural economy.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State has not made any direct assessment of the economic effect of mobile internet services on the rural economy. The Department has however recently undertaken work to assess the wider impact of broadband internet access. The UK Broadband Impact study is available on the GOV.UK website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-broadband-impact-study--2

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding is still available through the childcare business grant scheme; how many grants under that scheme have been allocated in each region; and how many such grants with a value of (a) £250 and (b) £500 have been allocated.

Helen Grant: The Childcare Business Grants scheme was launched in April 2013 to help those wishing to start a new child care business with start-up costs. To date, 4,417 applications have been received; of these, 4,001 applications have been for £250 grants and 416 have been for £500 grants.
	As at 7 April 2014, £791,750 is still available through the scheme.
	The regional breakdown of grant applications is in the following table:
	
		
			 Region Grants to the value of £250 Grants to the value of £500 Total applications 
			 North East 195 18 213 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 364 39 403 
			 North West 527 58 585 
			 South East 912 68 980 
			 South West 521 28 549 
			 London 442 89 531 
			 East Midlands 380 43 423 
			 East Anglia 353 24 377 
			 West Midlands 307 49 356 
			 Total (Grants) 4,001 416 4,417 
			     
			 Total (£) 1,000,250 208,000 1,208,250 
			 Source: Liberata, management information.

Culture: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding his Department and his Department's Executive agencies allocated to museums, galleries and libraries in (a) London and (b) Greater Manchester in each year since 2010.

Edward Vaizey: Funding awarded was as follows:
	
		
			 London 
			 £ 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 
			 DCMS London 499,343,000 476,352,000 427,101,000 325,157,000 
			 Arts Council: Grant in aid 1,000,000 8,102,776 3,615,252 545,255 
			 Arts Council: Lottery — 9,200,000 10,000,000 5,147,263 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 7,204,583 25,245,000 27,154,450 39,961,800 
			 Total 507,547,583 518,899,766 467,870,702 370,811,318 
		
	
	
		
			 Greater Manchester 
			 £ 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 
			 DCMS 4,882,000 3,332,000 — — 
			 Arts Council: Grant in aid — 5,247,981 1,145,450 366,450 
			 Arts Council: Lottery — 112,570 — 105,386 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 9,011,300 313,600 2,309,600 1,334,400 
			 Total 13,893,300 9,006,151 3,455,050 1,806,236 
		
	
	The DCMS London figure includes 11 national museums, which all have a national remit to work across the country, the Horniman Museums and Gardens, the Geffrye Museum and the British Library. It also includes funding for the Museums, Libraries and Archives council until such time in 2011 that funding transferred to Arts Council England, including funding for Renaissance in the Regions. The DCMS Greater Manchester figure relates to funding for the Museum of Science and Industry which joined the Science Museum Group in 2012.
	Significant differences in lottery funding relates to both the number and size of applications received, the funding available to support these applications and the way in which activity is classified.

Employment Agencies

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.

Helen Grant: The five companies that were used most often in the last financial year ending 31 March 2014 to provide temporary workers were:
	Capita Resourcing Ltd
	Brook Street UK Ltd
	Capita Business Services Ltd
	Hudson Global Resources Ltd
	Michael Page International Recruitment Ltd
	We do not hold the details of specific agency fees paid to each of these. This information is not separated out from the total charge that we pay to the agency for an individual. To try and separate out this cost would incur disproportionate cost.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 26 February 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs J Higham.

Helen Grant: A response to the right hon. Gentleman will be sent shortly.

Mobile Phones

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the economic effect of mobile network outages.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has not made any direct assessment of the economic effect of mobile network outages. In May 2011 a new requirement was introduced for operators to report to Ofcom any significant incidents which affect the availability of their networks and services. In November 2012 Ofcom published an update to the Communications Infrastructure Report including details of significant incidents and outages to mobile services, and their causes. This is available on Ofcom's website:
	http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/telecoms-research/broadband-speeds/infrastructure-report-2012/

Mobile Phones

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with mobile network operators on reform of the electronic communications code; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Ministers and officials have had a number of representations from the mobile network operators about the Electronic Communications Code since the Law Commission published its report on the reform of the code in February 2013. My Department is considering the implications of the Law Commission's recommendations on network roll-out and service provision to consumers. In January 2014, the Department published an economic analysis of the impact of various wayleave valuation regimes. A copy of this report has been placed in the House of Commons Library. The analysis work is ongoing and I will make public the plans to reform the Electronic Communications Code in due course.

National Lottery: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of national lottery grants have been provided to good causes in Scotland in each year since 2010.

Helen Grant: From information provided to DCMS by the national lottery distributing bodies, the value of grants given in Scotland as a proportion of all grants where a recipient location is specified is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 2010 9.5 
			 2011 10.1 
			 2012 11.8 
			 2013 9.8

Public Expenditure

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his Department's total (a) departmental expenditure limits (DEL), (b) resource DEL, (c) capital DEL, (d) resource departmental annually managed expenditure (AME) and (e) capital Department AME will be in 2015-16.

Helen Grant: The answer is as follows:
	
		
			 DCMS Budget allocations for 2015-16 
			  £000 
			 Departments expenditure limit 1,637,466 
			 Of which:  
			 Resource 1,275,466 
			 Capital 362,000 
			   
			 Annually managed expenditure 4,999,996 
			 Of which:  
			 Resource 4,299,368 
			 Capital 700,628

Public Expenditure

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 718W, on public expenditure, what the projected spending is by his Department in 2015-16 by functional flows to categories other than those specified in the answer, disaggregating (a) grant-in-aid, (b) Lottery, (c) capital and (d) current expenditure.

Helen Grant: The only area of public expenditure omitted from the answer of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 718W, relates to the administration and research of the Department This expenditure is met solely from Exchequer funding, and the plans for 2015-16 are £36.4 million resource and £1.1 million capital.

Public Expenditure

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 718W, on public expenditure, under which category Heritage Lottery Fund monies have been shown.

Helen Grant: Monies from the Heritage Lottery Fund were not included.

Responsible Gambling Trust

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Gambling Commission on the independence of the research programme of the Responsible Gambling Trust;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Responsible Gambling Trust on funding for research into fixed odds betting terminals.

Helen Grant: The Government holds regular discussions with the Gambling Commission and the Responsible Gambling Trust (which is an independent charity) on a range of matters, including the independence of the Responsible Gambling Trust’s research programme. At present, the Government is satisfied of the integrity of the research programme, all aspects of which will be vigorously peer-reviewed and transparent to the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board, the Gambling Commission and Government. Following Government-led discussions, the Responsible Gambling Trust has increased the available budget for commissioning independent research into fixed odds betting terminals by 50% to £750,000.

Tickets: Touting

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy to follow the model used for the restriction of the resale of football match tickets for other live events.

Helen Grant: The resale of football match tickets is restricted for reasons of public order and is a matter for the Home Office. I have no plans to extend these regulations in relation to the secondary ticket market for other live events.

Tickets: Touting

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action his Department is taking to prevent the resale of event tickets on the internet at a significant increase to their original face value.

Helen Grant: The Government continues to encourage improvements so that all customers have an opportunity to purchase tickets and can do so in a secure environment. The Government believes it is for event organisers together with the professional ticketing organisations to determine suitable arrangements for ticket sales to their events.

PRIME MINISTER

Euthanasia

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to suspend collective responsibility on any vote in the House on assisted suicide legislation.

David Cameron: Issues on matters of conscience have, by tradition, been the subject of a free vote in the House of Commons.

CABINET OFFICE

Building Regulations

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on how building regulations can contribute to his Department's Building Information Modelling Smart City project.

Francis Maude: As was the case under previous Administrations details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Census

Margaret Curran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people in England and Wales identified themselves as (a) British, (b) Scottish and (c) British and Scottish in the 2011 census.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker, dated April 2014
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people in England and Wales identified as a) British, b) Scottish and c) British and Scottish in the 2011 Census. (195616)
	The following is an extract from 2011 Census Table KS202EW which shows the numbers of residents and what proportion stated their national identity was British, Scottish and British and Scottish as at Census day – 27 March 2011.
	
		
			 National identity All usual residents in England and Wales Percentage 
			 British only 10,690,999 19.1 
			 British and Scottish 83,412 0.1 
			 Scottish 434,951 0.8 
		
	
	Full results can be found here:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/KS202EW/view/2092957703?cols=measures

Job Creation

Lucy Powell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the Office for National Statistics includes in its estimate of newly-created private sector jobs those which have been reclassified from public to private sector as a result of privatisation or outsourcing.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated April 2014
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics includes in its estimate of newly-created private sector jobs those which have been reclassified from public to private sector as a result of privatisation or outsourcing. (195608)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics relating to both the number of people in employment and the number of jobs but does not make estimates of the number of newly-created private sector jobs.
	Reclassifications between the public and private sectors are highlighted in the quarterly Public Sector Employment and monthly Labour Market Statistics releases so that their impact on labour market statistical outputs is clear.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged under 25 years in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland have claimed jobseeker's allowance for more than (a) one and (b) two years in each year since 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker, dated April 2014
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged under 25 years in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland had claimed jobseeker’s allowance for more than (a) one and (b) two years in each year since 2010. (195613)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles data on the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance from the JobcentrePlus Administrative System.
	Table 1 shows the number of people aged under 25 years claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance for more than one year in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland for February 2014 and February for each year since 2010. Table 2 shows the number of those who had been claiming for more than two years.
	A copy of the tables will be placed in the Library of the House.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number1,2 of people aged under 25 years claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than one year in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland 
			  As at February: 
			  2010 2011 2012 2013 20143 
			 Aberdeen North 10 5 40 60 20 
			 Aberdeen South 5 5 25 40 15 
			 Airdrie and Shotts 70 30 120 215 135 
			 Angus 10 0 55 85 55 
			 Argyll and Bute 10 15 65 65 45 
			 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 40 20 110 200 135 
			 Banff and Buchan 0 10 45 50 20 
			 Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk 40 50 85 110 80 
			 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 5 5 50 70 50 
			 Central Ayrshire 45 25 95 145 110 
		
	
	
		
			 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 60 35 115 200 130 
			 Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East 45 15 85 130 65 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 50 30 85 140 95 
			 Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 35 30 90 100 60 
			 Dundee East 25 10 80 150 80 
			 Dundee West 20 20 125 235 160 
			 Dunfermline and West Fife 10 25 90 135 90 
			 East Dunbartonshire 10 5 15 50 30 
			 East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow 35 25 90 120 80 
			 East Lothian 20 15 75 90 85 
			 East Renfrewshire 5 10 30 50 30 
			 Edinburgh East 45 20 75 85 70 
			 Edinburgh North and Leith 40 30 75 100 65 
			 Edinburgh South 20 15 30 55 30 
			 Edinburgh South West 30 15 55 90 55 
			 Edinburgh West 20 10 40 60 50 
			 Falkirk 10 45 140 155 105 
			 Glasgow Central 35 60 85 135 75 
			 Glasgow East 65 75 140 160 100 
			 Glasgow North 45 30 55 95 65 
			 Glasgow North East 90 90 165 230 180 
			 Glasgow North West 60 80 135 170 105 
			 Glasgow South 50 80 90 120 80 
			 Glasgow South West 60 80 115 165 140 
			 Glenrothes 10 15 125 185 105 
			 Gordon 0 0 10 10 10 
			 Inverclyde 30 10 75 85 45 
			 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey 15 10 25 40 25 
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 60 25 130 215 155 
			 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 15 30 120 165 140 
			 Lanark and Hamilton East 65 55 125 185 130 
			 Linlithgow and East Falkirk 60 65 135 175 135 
			 Livingston 60 45 85 120 70 
			 Midlothian 50 45 105 130 80 
			 Moray 0 10 40 35 15 
			 Motherwell and Wishaw 85 60 160 195 135 
			 Na h-Eileanan An Iar 0 0 5 10 5 
			 North Ayrshire and Arran 100 55 150 255 155 
			 North East Fife 5 5 30 60 40 
			 Ochil and South Perthshire 0 20 90 160 125 
			 Orkney and Shetland 0 0 5 15 10 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire North 5 15 70 100 65 
		
	
	
		
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire South 10 20 85 165 120 
			 Perth and North Perthshire 5 5 35 65 40 
			 Ross, Skye and Lochaber 5 0 15 25 10 
			 Rutherglen and Hamilton West 75 70 155 225 130 
			 Stirling 5 10 75 115 60 
			 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine 0 5 5 10 5 
			 West Dunbartonshire 25 25 160 200 140 
			 1 Data rounded to nearest 5. 2 Computerised claims only. Information on age of claimant is only available for computerised claims which currently make up 99.8% of all claims. 3 Claimant count figures for February 2014 do not yet include claimants of Universal Credit. Source: Jobcentreplus Administrative System 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number1,2 of people aged under 25 years claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than two years in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland 
			  As at February: 
			  2010 2011 2012 2013 20143 
			 Aberdeen North 0 0 0 15 10 
			 Aberdeen South 0 0 5 5 5 
			 Airdrie and Shotts 0 5 5 45 60 
			 Angus 0 0 0 15 20 
			 Argyll and Bute 0 0 5 20 10 
			 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 5 5 5 35 50 
			 Banff and Buchan 0 0 0 15 5 
			 Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk 0 10 10 30 35 
			 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 0 0 0 20 25 
			 Central Ayrshire 0 5 5 30 45 
			 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 0 5 10 55 65 
			 Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East 5 5 5 35 20 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 0 5 15 35 35 
			 Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 0 10 10 30 30 
			 Dundee East 0 5 5 30 45 
			 Dundee West 5 5 5 45 75 
			 Dunfermline and West Fife 0 5 10 35 40 
			 East Dunbartonshire 0 0 0 5 15 
			 East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow 0 5 5 35 35 
			 East Lothian 0 0 5 20 30 
			 East Renfrewshire 0 0 0 10 10 
			 Edinburgh East 0 5 5 20 25 
			 Edinburgh North and Leith 0 5 5 20 25 
			 Edinburgh South 0 5 5 10 15 
			 Edinburgh South West 0 5 5 20 20 
			 Edinburgh West 0 0 5 10 20 
			 Falkirk 0 0 10 50 50 
			 Glasgow Central 5 5 15 30 30 
		
	
	
		
			 Glasgow East 10 15 20 40 35 
			 Glasgow North 10 10 10 20 25 
			 Glasgow North East 10 30 30 60 85 
			 Glasgow North West 15 20 25 50 50 
			 Glasgow South 10 15 30 30 35 
			 Glasgow South West 5 10 30 40 55 
			 Glenrothes 0 5 5 45 45 
			 Gordon 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Inverclyde 0 0 5 25 15 
			 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey 0 0 5 5 10 
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 0 5 5 50 60 
			 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 5 5 10 45 50 
			 Lanark and Hamilton East 0 10 15 55 55 
			 Linlithgow and East Falkirk 0 15 20 45 50 
			 Livingston 0 10 5 15 25 
			 Midlothian 0 15 10 25 35 
			 Moray 0 0 5 10 5 
			 Motherwell and Wishaw 0 10 15 45 50 
			 Na h-Eileanan An Iar 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Ayrshire and Arran 5 15 15 70 60 
			 North East Fife 0 5 5 10 15 
			 Ochil and South Perthshire 0 0 5 40 65 
			 Orkney and Shetland 0 0 0 5 5 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire North 0 0 5 20 30 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire South 5 5 5 30 55 
			 Perth and North Perthshire 0 0 0 10 15 
			 Ross, Skye and Lochaber 0 0 0 5 0 
			 Rutherglen and Hamilton West 5 10 15 45 60 
			 Stirling 5 0 5 30 30 
			 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Dunbartonshire 5 5 10 55 55 
			 1 Data rounded to nearest 5. 2 Computerised claims only. Information on age of claimant is only available for computerised claims which currently make up 99.8% of all claims. 3 Claimant count figures for February 2014 do not yet include claimants of Universal Credit. Source: Jobcentreplus Administrative System

Unemployment: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the proportion of young people in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) Essex who have been unemployed for more than 12 months.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated April 2014
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office for the proportion of young people in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) Essex who have been unemployed for more than 12 months. (195485)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. However, estimates of unemployment for the requested age band, duration and geographies are not available due to small sample sizes.
	As an alternative we have provided the proportion of young people who had been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for more than 12 months. The counts of people claiming JSA are those who are claiming benefits for unemployment related purposes. At a UK level the total number of JSA claimants is around half of the total unemployment level.
	In February 2014 the proportion of people aged 18 to 24 years who had been claiming JSA for more than 12 months in Chelmsford constituency and Essex were 0.6% and 0.7% respectively.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Youth Services

Karen Buck: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  if he will rank each English local authority by the (a) percentage and (b) actual change in (i) total and (ii) per capita expenditure on all provisions for young people since 2010;
	(2)  how much each local authority in England reported as its (a) budgeted and (b) outturn expenditure on all youth work and provision of activities for young people in each year since 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested is collected by Department for Education and published on gov.uk. I have asked that this information for each year since 2010 is placed in the Library of the House as soon as is practicable.
	Figures for actual spend by local authority in 2013-14 will be available in December 2014.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Housing Benefit: Rural Areas

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the level of need in rural communities for discretionary housing payments beyond 2014-15.

Steve Webb: An assessment has not yet been made about the level of need in rural communities for discretionary housing payments (DHP) beyond 2014-15. DHP funding after 2014-15 will be agreed in due course and will be informed by evidence on the use and demand for DHPs, including in rural communities. The Department is currently collecting data on the use of discretionary housing payments in the 2013-14 financial year.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of social housing tenants affected by the implementation of the under-occupancy penalty have been given exempt status in each (a) constituency and (b) local authority area.

Esther McVey: The only group exempt from the removal of the spare room subsidy and therefore unaffected by the policy are those housing benefit social sector tenants who have reached state pension credit age.
	Registered foster carers are allowed an additional bedroom if they have fostered a child during the last 52 weeks and parents of armed forces personnel who have been deployed on operations are allowed to retain that adult child’s bedroom.

Internet

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which suppliers his Department has contracted for the delivery of his Sorting Out Separation Web Application; and how much was awarded under each contract.

Steve Webb: The information is as follows:
	Current contracts
	Memset Ltd to provide hosting services. The amount awarded was £10,990.83 (ex VAT)—contract expires 1 September 2014.
	Lightmaker UK Ltd to provide maintenance and development services. The amount awarded was £97,500 (ex VAT)—contract expires 31 July 2014.
	Expired contracts
	Centre for Separated Families to develop logic for a self diagnostic tool and the contract amount awarded was £19,630 (ex VAT)—contract expired 5 July 2013.
	Lightmaker UK Ltd to provide interactive content services and the amount awarded was £99,625 (ex VAT)—contract expired 15 January 2013.
	Bullet Ltd to provide Syndication/Promotion services and the amount awarded was £99,160 (ex VAT)—contract expired 31 October 2013.

Internet

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to ensure the effectiveness of the Sorting Out Separation Web app in providing constructive support to assist collaboration for longer-term separated parents in response to the evaluation commissioned by his Department which indicated that the Web app had little relevance or use for this group.

Steve Webb: DWP research report 863: “Sorting Out Separation Web App: evaluation of effectiveness” highlighted that the longer-term separated found the Sorting out Separation Web app less relevant because they were more likely to know most of the information provided.
	The evaluation confirmed that we need better to understand the needs of this group. Several projects funded in the second round of the Innovation Fund are specifically focusing on what type of support works to help longer-term separated couples to collaborate. When these projects have been completed and evaluated, we will be able to consider how further to improve support for longer-term separated parents.

Jobcentre Plus

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2014, Official Report, columns 971-2W, on Remploy, what proportion of the £4.2 million spending has gone to Jobcentre Plus; and who the recipients are of the majority of that funding.

Michael Penning: Of the £4.2 million spent on providing individual support to former Remploy disabled employees, up to the end of January 2014, £0.7 million has been provided to Jobcentre Plus to fund personal case workers, who provide personalised one-to-one help to find and keep employment. As at 21 March 2014, 1,513 disabled former Remploy workers have chosen to work with our personal case workers to find another job and 716 are in work.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision is made by Jobcentre Plus for victims of domestic violence.

Esther McVey: Jobcentre Plus directly supports domestic violence victims in a number of ways. The jobseeker’s allowance domestic violence (JSA DV) easement helps victims of actual or threatened domestic violence by allowing a break from job seeking activity. This helps to give claimants the opportunity to begin to stabilise their lives and those of their families. The Destitute Domestic Violence Concession ensures migrant spouse victims of domestic violence who have been granted leave to remain outside the immigration rules are able to access eligible income-related benefits.
	As well as these initiatives our operational staff signpost domestic violence victims to local support organisations. Partnership working opportunities with local voluntary and community support groups is continually being developed at a local level.

Jobcentre Plus

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department issues to Jobcentre Plus on giving written appointment cards to claimants with details of future appointments.

Esther McVey: Jobcentre staff are advised to confirm, in writing, the details of all appointments a claimant is required to attend. This includes the date, time and location of the appointment, what the claimant must do if they cannot attend and the consequences of failing to attend any of these appointments without good reason.

Jobcentre Plus: Bolton

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints about (a) staff behaviour, (b) contested sanction decisions and (c) telephone line waiting times have been made against Bolton Jobcentre Plus offices in each year since 2010.

Esther McVey: Until July 2012, when a new process for handling and recording customer feedback was introduced, complaints were not formally categorised. It has therefore not been possible to accurately identify the requested data prior to that date. In addition, contested sanction decisions are subject to the appeals and reconsideration process and are not categorised as complaints. The information we are able to provide for Bolton Jobcentre is as follows:
	
		
			 Period Staff behaviour Telephone line waiting times 
			 1 July 2012 to 31 December 2012 5 0 
			 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013 20 0 
			 1 January 2014 to 1 March 2014 12 0

Jobseeker's Allowance

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether any jobseeker's allowance claimant was sanctioned for not signing on Christmas Day.

Esther McVey: It is not Jobcentre Plus policy to sanction jobseeker's allowance claimants for not signing on Christmas day. Jobcentres are closed as this is a public holiday.

Nurseries

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 26W, on nurseries, for what reasons his Department is reviewing provision of workplace nurseries; when that review will be complete; how many families access his Department's workplace nursery provision; how much workplace nursery provision by his Department costs each year; and whether his Department claims tax relief on workplace nurseries.

Michael Penning: There are currently seven workplace nurseries in operation, by third parties, on DWP premises.
	The Department’s current contracts with its nursery providers are soon expiring. Therefore, it is appropriate to review future nursery provision in general and consider whether it is appropriate and cost effective to continue to contract for on site services.
	In addition, as part of its remuneration package, the Department supports employees through a salary sacrifice scheme where employees can give up part of their salary in return for childcare vouchers, which allows for significant savings through tax relief. This gives parents support in order to make their own choices for child care. Consequently, as suitable alternatives exist, it is no longer appropriate to continue to contract for workplace nursery provision.
	There are currently 361 families who access DWP’s workplace nurseries.
	The cost of nursery provision:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2013-14 YTD (February) 29,112 
			 2012-13 50,693 
			 2011-12 80,811 
			 2010-11 88,494 
		
	
	The Department doesn’t claim tax relief on workplace nurseries.
	No information is held on Executive agencies and non-departmental bodies. There would be a disproportionate cost to source that information.

Pensioners: Means-tested Benefits

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the minimum income per annum required during an individual's working life to prevent the need to claim means-tested benefits in retirement.

Steve Webb: No such estimate has been made.
	The single-tier pension will be set above the level of the standard minimum guarantee for a single person. This means that for people reaching state pension age from April 2016 onwards, anyone who has built up 35 qualifying years through national insurance contributions and credits should have an income above the level of the basic means test, regardless of how much they earned during their working life.
	Some pensioners will still require means-tested support, and at a given level of retirement income an individual's eligibility will depend on a number of factors. These include the level and nature of their housing costs, whether they are single or in a couple, whether they have additional needs associated with caring or severe disability and whether they reached state pension age before or after the introduction of the single-tier pension.
	Whether or not a particular salary level in working life would lead to an income in retirement that is high enough to avoid eligibility for any means-tested benefits will also depend on the choices an individual makes, including how much of their income to save for retirement.

Pensions: Russia

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions the Government has had with the government of Russia on the failure of certain Russian companies to fulfil their obligations in relation to pension payments to UK citizens following those companies acquiring the assets of UK businesses.

Steve Webb: The responsibility for the oversight of work-based pensions in the UK rests with the Pensions Regulator which was set up under the Pensions Act 2004. Parliament gave the Pensions Regulator operational independence, which means that Ministers are not involved in decisions to exercise its powers or able to intervene in its casework. It would therefore not be appropriate for Ministers to comment on any individual pension scheme. Where it appears that scheme abandonment has taken place, it is a matter for the Regulator to establish whether the legal tests in relation to its ‘anti-avoidance' powers, including the power to issue contribution notices, are met.

Personal Independence Payment

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average waiting time is for a personal independence payment assessment for claimants in (a) the Torbay local authority area, (b) the South West and (c) England.

Michael Penning: Personal independence payment (PIP) started from April 2013 and, although limited data has started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284330/pip_stats_release_strategy_feb14.pdf
	An ad-hoc release of PIP information was published on 11 February 2014.

Personal Independence Payment: Clackmannanshire

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of personal independence payment claimants in Ochil and South Perthshire constituency who waited for more than six months for a home medical assessment.

Michael Penning: It is not possible to provide the data for personal independence payment home assessments in the Ochil and South Perthshire constituency.

Remploy

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much personal budget his Department allocated to each Remploy worker;
	(2)  how much of the funding available for Remploy worker personal budgets has been allocated and used by individuals.

Michael Penning: Personal budgets are an important part of the £8 million People Help and Support Package (PHSP) which was not available for those affected by the 2008 Modernisation Plan. Personal budgets provide additional support where other sources of funding are unavailable. We originally budgeted £4 million for personal budgets but all of the PHSP support, including personal budgets, is allocated based on individual need and there is no specific allocation of funding for each former Remploy disabled employee.
	Up to the end of March 2014, DWP has spent in total £4.9 million on providing individual support including £0.4 million on personal budgets. We expect all the original £8 million PHSP funding budget to be utilised by the time the last PHSP period is completed.
	As at 21 March 2014, 1,513 disabled former Remploy workers have chosen to work with our personal case workers to find another job and 716 are in work.

Social Security Benefits

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy is when a claimant's regular signing on date falls on a bank holiday.

Esther McVey: Jobseeker's allowance claimants who are due to attend their local jobcentre on a public holiday are excused from doing so and an advanced payment is issued.
	Claimants must continue to meet the conditions of entitlement, by being available for and looking for work and the actions they have taken to do so are reviewed at the claimant's next attendance.
	The claimant is informed of this and issued with a formal notification at their attendance prior to the public holiday.

Unemployment Benefits: Lone Parents

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provisions are in place to enable a lone parent on out-of-work benefits and on a course taking up more than 16 hours per week, whose youngest child turns five-years-old, to complete the course notwithstanding the 16 hour rule.

Esther McVey: Lone parents in receipt of income support and who were undertaking a full-time course that began prior to May 2012 are transitionally protected and they can therefore continue their courses.
	Lone parents who began a full-time course post May 2012 were notified prior to them undertaking the course that they will be required to work search when their youngest child turns five, as part of the lone parent obligation changes. This would mean that a claimant who is capable of work could continue with part-time training and still be eligible for JSA.

Vacancies: Internet

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of vacancies currently available on Universal Jobmatch are employee only jobs;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 723W, on conditions of employment, how many and what proportion of vacancies available on Universal Jobmatch are zero-hours contracts jobs.

Esther McVey: In answering question 195183 we have interpreted “employee only jobs” as meaning “employee owner status jobs.”
	Universal Jobmatch revolutionises the way jobseekers look for work and it has already helped many jobseekers find the jobs they want. It is part of the Government's plan for providing easy online access to Government services for all.
	Universal Jobmatch has streamlined our existing services for employers and empowered claimants to take more responsibility for their jobsearch and get more targeted support from advisers.
	It does not capture information on the number and proportion of zero-hours contracts or ‘employee owner' status jobs.
	Jobcentre Plus guidance stipulates that claimants should not be mandated to apply for a job offering a zero hours contract. It also states that no sanction action will be taken if claimants refuse or fail to apply.

Vacancies: Internet

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that jobs advertised on Universal Jobmatch do not breach his Department's terms and conditions.

Esther McVey: The vast majority of employers offer genuine vacancies for jobseekers to apply for-however, we don't hesitate to take action against anyone who tries to break the rules. Where we identify vacancies that may not comply with our terms and conditions we suspend the vacancy, investigate and remove if appropriate. If the employer is unable to provide assurance of compliance with terms and conditions, their account will also be suspended.

Vacancies: North Yorkshire

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the current number of job vacancies is in the Thirsk, Malton and Filey travel-to-work area.

Esther McVey: The Universal Jobmatch System was introduced in November 2012. The system does not provide data for travel-to-work areas. However, I can confirm the number of live jobs on the system in these towns at 8 April 2014.
	
		
			 Town Number of live jobs 
			 Thirsk 149 
			 Malton 134 
			 Filey 44 
			 Total 327

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, columns 518-19W, on the Work programme, for what reason the change in the definition of Payment Group 6 referred to in the memorandum was made.

Esther McVey: The change in the definition of Payment Group 6 was made to allow more people to gain access to the tailored support provided by the Work programme.

HEALTH

Air Pollution

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of deaths from air pollution in (a) London, (b) Cardiff, (c) Edinburgh and (d) Birmingham in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Ellison: Estimates of the fraction of mortality in English local authority areas and regions in 2010 and 2011 attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities are published by Public Health England as one of the indicators in the Department of Health's Public Health Outcomes Framework.
	For London, this figure was approximately 7.2% in both years. In Birmingham, the figures were approximately 6.4% for 2010 and 5.9% for 2011. Figures for Cardiff and Edinburgh have not yet been published.

Bone Marrow Disorders

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in the UK receiving long-term care after a bone marrow transplant; and what assessment he has made of variations in the number of such patients across regions.

Jane Ellison: No estimate has been made as this information is not held centrally.
	NHS England has published service specifications for both child and adult haematopoietic stem cell transplantation which sets out that a clearly defined programme of after care should be developed with the patient following treatment. The specifications are important in clearly defining what NHS England expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. They ensure equity of access to a nationally consistent, high quality service for patients.

Breast Cancer

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to generalise BRCA 1/2 gene testing in England and Wales; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that policy in Scotland.

Jane Ellison: Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines recommend offering genetic testing to people with a 10% likelihood of carrying a BRCA1/2 mutation. This has been put to the NHS England medical genetics Clinical Reference Group (CRG) with input also from the specialised gynaecology CRG to scope out what the issues are in order to inform us further.
	The Department has made no specific assessment of the effectiveness of BRCA 1/2 genetic testing policy in Scotland.

Cancer

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all cancer strategic clinical networks have adequate financial resources to contribute to the achievement in all domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework.

Jane Ellison: The Strategic Clinical Networks (SCNs) are funded by NHS England and managed through area teams. Their focus is on continuous service improvement particularly where there is a need for a co-ordinated system wide or a collective approach to improvement.
	Cancer is one of the four key areas of focus for their work; the others being cardiovascular disease, maternity and children and mental health, which includes dementia. All of them are high national priorities.
	The SCNs work with local stakeholders, including local commissioners and local clinical teams to determine the priorities for their work plans and target their resources accordingly. These are aligned to the national priorities set out in Putting Patients First, NHS England's recently published Business Plan 2014-15 to 2016-17, and the NHS Outcomes Framework.

Cancer

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are taking to improve the experience of cancer patients at the end of life.

Norman Lamb: Domain 4 of the NHS Outcomes Framework includes the indicator “Improving the experience of care for people at the end of their lives”. The data source underpinning this indicator is the national survey of bereaved relatives (VOICES), an internationally recognised tool for obtaining feedback on people's experience at the end of life, as well as that of the bereaved person. This indicator will enable us to assess the progress NHS England is making in improving the quality of end of life care for all patients, including those with cancer.
	The latest national VOICES survey results were published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in July 2013, and in March 2014, the ONS made findings of the survey available at national health service local area team and clinical commissioning group level. The survey results, are supporting commissioners and providers to target service improvements and drive up standards locally. Survey results can be viewed on the ONS website
	www.ons.gov.uk
	(type ‘VOICES survey' into the search bar).
	The “Quality Standard for End of life Care for Adults”, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2011, highlights areas of care that can play a key role in supporting a positive experience, including: the importance of giving people the opportunity to discuss, develop and review a personalised care plan for current and future support; and treatment and the need for those delivering care to be aware of the individual's care plan and expressed care preferences. NICE Quality Standards are a concise set of statements designed to drive and measure priority quality improvements within a particular area of care and NHS England continues to champion their use with providers and commissioners.

Dental Health: Children

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding of dental visits to schools and Sure Start centres to promote dental awareness.

Daniel Poulter: Oral health promotion programmes are commissioned by local authorities and funded from their public health allocations. No figures are collated centrally regarding the funding allocated by local authorities to such programmes in schools or Sure Start centres.
	Public Health England will be publishing Commissioning Better Oral Health, an oral health promotion toolkit for local authorities, in early summer 2014.

Dental Health: Children

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to encourage reductions in dental decay in young children.

Daniel Poulter: In May 2014, Public Health England (PHE) will publish the third edition of ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’, evidence-based guidance for health care professionals on the prevention of dental disease. This will include specific advice regarding the provision of preventative dental advice and treatment for children. A public-facing version is planned for later in the year.
	Local authorities, working in partnership with IMHS England's Area Teams and PHE, have a key role in determining oral health strategies in their area, In order to support them in this role, PHE will be publishing ‘Commissioning Better Oral Health’, an oral health improvement toolkit for local authorities, in early summer 2014.
	PHE promotes a healthy balanced diet to children through its Change4Life campaign, which aims to help families to eat healthier. PHE is also supporting the work of the School Food Plan to encourage schools to take a whole school approach to healthy eating.
	The NHS dental contract reform programme is also focussed on embedding prevention in dental practice.

Dental Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to home visits for frail dental patients.

Daniel Poulter: NHS England is responsible for commissioning dental care services to reflect local needs and priorities. This includes appropriate domiciliary services for patients who are unable to access high street, or community dental services. NHS England is currently engaged in working on a strategic commissioning framework for dental commissioning which includes services for vulnerable groups such as the frail and elderly.
	1.4 million more patients have seen a national health service dentist since May 2010.

Dental Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made on replacement of the 2006 Units of Dental Activity dental contract.

Daniel Poulter: 1.4 million more patients have seen a national health service (NHS) dentist since May 2010. The Government remains committed to dental reform and to ensuring that any changes are thoroughly piloted before implementation. More than 90 pilot dental practices have been testing new ways of delivering care and remuneration that support dentists to increase access and improve oral health. The learning from these pilots will inform design of any new system. Professor Jimmy Steele's second report on the learning so far, “NHS dental contract pilots-Learning after first two years of piloting”, is available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/282760/Dental_contract_ pilots_evidence_and_learning_report.pdf
	and a copy has been placed in the Library.

Dental Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care dental services contracts have been secured by UK providers in each of the last four years.

Daniel Poulter: Information is not available in the format requested. However information for England can be found as follows:
	
		
			 NHS dental contracts in England for each financial year 2009-10 to 2013-14 
			 2009-10 
			 Number of contracts 
			  Contract type  
			 Status GDS PDS TDS Total 
			 Existing contract 7,433 1,223 758 9,414 
			 New contract 2009-10 851 234 101 1,186 
			 Total 8,284 1,457 859 10,600 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 
			 Number of contracts 
			  Contract type  
			 Status GDS PDS TDS Total 
			 Existing contract 7,408 1,156 766 9,330 
			 New contract 2010-11 836 379 65 1,280 
			 Total 8,244 1,535 831 10,610 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 
			 Number of contracts 
			  Contract type  
			 Status GDS PDS TDS Total 
			 Existing contract 7,251 1,237 601 9,089 
			 New contract 2011-12 920 331 58 1,309 
			 Total 8,171 1,568 659 10,398 
		
	
	
		
			 2012-13 
			 Number of contracts 
			  Contract type  
			 Status GDS PDS TDS Total 
			 Existing contract 7,185 1,376 596 9,157 
			 New contract 2012-13 808 231 35 1,074 
			 Total 7,993 1,607 631 10,231 
		
	
	
		
			 2013-14 
			 Number of contracts 
			  Contract type  
			 Status GDS PDS TDS Total 
			 Existing contract 7,073 1,349 575 8,997 
			 New contract 2013-14 618 145 13 776 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 7,691 1,494 588 9,773 
			 Notes: 1. Caveats: Data included is for contracts in England entered on POL by commissioners from, primary care trusts (PCT) prior to April 2013 and area teams (AT) thereafter, either prior to or during each of the financial years. Counts will include contracts that are open prior to the reporting period, open during the whole period and those that opened during each of the reporting years (new contracts). Contracts can open and close, change PCT or AT, change ownership or form new companies any time during the reporting period and all such instances are counted. Contracts on POL that opened and closed on the same day have been excluded on the assumption that these are invalid entries. 2. Definitions: Year: The financial year of the entry on POL. Includes the calendar month April to March for each of the reported time periods. Number of Contracts: The count of contracts as entered on POL for each financial year from 2009-10 to 2013-14 3. Contract Type Name GDS-General Dental Services “NHS GDS and PDS contracts commissioned for general and orthodontic dental provision)” PDS-Personal Dental Services TDS-Trust led Dental Services “NHS Trust services commissioned locally to cover specialist and community dental services” Existing contract: A contract that already exists and opened prior to the reporting period New contract: A contract that opened any time during the particular reporting period and did not exist previously Sources: 1. NHSBSA Dental Services Payments on line (POL) Information entered by commissioners to administer and monitor contracts to enable payments to dentists. 2. NHSBSA Dental Services data warehouse The information we collect from dental activity forms (FP17s) combined with the information taken from POL.

Dental Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has considered potential alternative sources of funding for additional NHS dental services.

Daniel Poulter: The national health service commissions services based on local oral health needs. 1.4 million more patients have seen a national health service dentist since May 2010. NHS England determines how best to use its resources to meet this need. In the year 2013 the gross spend nationally on dental services was £2.84 billion of which £653 million was raised by patient charges. Patients contribute to the cost of their dental care where they are able to afford it and there are no plans to amend this.

General Practitioners

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of GP practices which have a premium or 0845 telephone number to book appointments.

Daniel Poulter: The requested information is not collected centrally.
	Regulations introduced in 2010 prevented general practitioner practices from entering into, renewing or extending a contract for telephone services unless it was satisfied that, looking at the arrangements as a whole, patients would not pay more to make calls to the practice than they would to make calls to a geographical number.
	It is for NHS England to ensure that practices are meeting the terms of their contracting arrangements.

Health: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library all recent correspondence between Ministers in his Department and their counterparts in the Scottish Government on cross-border public health risks.

Jane Ellison: Correspondence relating to the European Affairs Committee clearance of the Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on Serious Cross-Border Threats to Health has been placed in the Library.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the Data Access Advisory Group's register of approved applications for sensitive data made to the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) contains entries which are missing from the HSCIC's overall register of approved data releases.

Daniel Poulter: The Data Access Advisory Group's (DAAG) register of approved applications for sensitive data covers applications made to DAAG for both release of sensitive data and advice on consent models.
	The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) register as published on 3 April 2014 covers data releases approved by the HSCIC from 1 April 2013 to 31 December 2013.
	There are three reasons why such approved applications may therefore not appear in the HSCIC's overall register of approved data releases:
	1. If the data request was approved and the data released through the applications process for the Data Linkage and Extract Service (DLES) before 31 March 2013.
	2. If the data request was approved and the data released through the applications process for the DLES after 1 January 2014. At its January 2014 meeting, the HSCIC Board committed to a quarterly update to the register.
	3. If the request to DAAG is for advice on consent models. These will not appear in the register since no data will have been released.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who would be responsible for informing patients that their confidential medical data had been released without a legal basis.

Daniel Poulter: The Department's guidance to national health service (NHS) healthcare providers is that they should inform patients when a personal data breach has taken place. In addition, the new standard NHS contract includes a requirement that NHS hospital trusts must adopt and implement and the recommendations of the Caldicott Information Governance Review, including the recommendation that where there is an inappropriate disclosure of personal confidential data then
	“the data controller, the individual or the organisation responsible for the data”
	must explain the reasons for the disclosure, what remedial action is being taken and provide an apology to the patient whose data has been disclosed.
	In line with other NHS organisations, the Health and Social Care Information Centre will only release confidential medical information with a legal basis to do so. If it breaches confidentiality then it should act in accordance with the Caldicott recommendations and inform individuals of the breach.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the approved application for sensitive data made by the Cabinet Office to the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) Data Access Advisory Group (DAAG), Application Reference OC/HES/030, does not appear in (a) the DAAG meeting minutes and (b) HSCIC's register of approved data releases; what data was requested in that application; and how the decision to approve the data release was made.

Daniel Poulter: The record of the application made by the Cabinet Office (Application Reference OC/HES/030) and the decision made was recorded in the Data Access Advisory Group (DAAG) January meeting minutes which are now available on the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) website at the following link:
	www.hscic.gov.uk/daag
	This application did not request release of data and no data was released, therefore it does not appear on the HSCIC's register of approved data releases.
	No data was requested in the application from the Cabinet Office. This application was to seek advice from DAAG about the consent approach covering wording for a piece of urgent work.
	Due to the urgent nature of the request, the request was considered and approved by DAAG members out of committee, but this was not recorded in the relevant minutes. The members agreed to include this decision in the minutes from the January meeting to ensure that it was on record.

Nurses: Foreign Workers

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses from (a) the European Economic Area outside the UK and (b) other overseas countries registered as a nurse in the NHS in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not hold information on the numbers of nurses from the European Economic Area and other overseas countries who are registered nurses working in the national health service.
	The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the regulatory body for nurses and midwives and holds a register of nurses and midwives registered to practise in the United Kingdom. Nurses must be registered with the NMC to work as a nurse in any health care setting, not just the NHS. To keep their registration up to date, nurses also need to renew their registration every three years.
	The following tables show the number of registered nurses from the European Economic Area and from overseas countries since 2002.
	
		
			  European Economic Area (excluding the United Kingdom) 
			 2002-03 802 
			 2003-04 1,029 
			 2004-05 1,192 
			 2005-06 1,745 
			 2006-07 1,484 
			 2007-08 1,457 
			 2008-09 1,920 
			 2009-10 1,970 
			 2010-11 2,715 
			 2011-12 3,137 
			 2012-13 3,436 
			 Total 20,887 
			 Note: For each year data relate to the period of 1 April to 31 March the following year. Data for 2013-14 may be available from the NMC. Source: Nursing and Midwifery Council 
		
	
	
		
			  Overseas 
			 2002-03 12,747 
			 2003-04 13,954 
			 2004-05 11,306 
			 2005-06 8,634 
			 2006-07 4,830 
			 2007-08 2,338 
			 2008-09 762 
			 2009-10 550 
			 2010-11 1,143 
			 2011-12 1,152 
			 2012-13 869 
			 Total 58,285 
			 Note: For each year data relate to the period of 1 April to 31 March the following year. Data for 2013-14 may be available from the NMC. Source: Nursing and Midwifery Council

Nutrition

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific targets relating to portion size companies which are signed up to the calorie reduction pledge of the Responsibility Deal have agreed to; and what progress they have made in achieving those targets.

Jane Ellison: The calorie reduction pledge of the Responsibility Deal was launched in March 2012 and currently 36 companies are signed up to take a range of actions to reduce calories. Within that, the following 26 companies have pledged to take action on portion size. Some of the companies signed up to the pledge after the initial launch and may have made further progress since the last formal reports. Annual updates for 2013-14 will be made available from 15 May 2014.
	Aldi Stores Ltd—will review portion sizes.
	Aramark—will seek to influence customers' choice through portion control.
	Asda—will support the development of a range of portion controlled options across bakery and snacking food lines.
	Authentic Food Company—has reduced meal sizes.
	Britvic Soft Drinks—has launched a 250ml slimline can.
	Burton's Foods Ltd—is testing and implementing portion control packs across its biscuit range.
	CH&Co Catering Ltd—has committed to reduce portion sizes offering smaller alternative dessert and cake portions and smaller juice sizes, particularly smoothies.
	Coca-Cola GB—has launched a 375 ml bottle and a 250 ml slimline can.
	Compass Group UK & I—pledged to commence work on reviewing portion sizes at the end of 2012.
	Dairy Crest Ltd—has introduced single serve portion products and reduced its milkshake bottle size from 500 ml to 471 ml.
	Dairy UK—will encourage its members to reduce portion sizes where appropriate.
	Feel Good Drinks—will introduce smaller pack size products to give options for lower volume/lower total calorie portions.
	JD Wetherspoon PLC—will look to offer varying portion size options and reviewing the portion sizes on all components in all dishes.
	Lexington Catering—will aim to reduce calories through new menu choices and portion control.
	Mars UK—has introduced new smaller multipack formats.
	Mondelez International—has introduced a two biscuit portion pack.
	Nestle UK—will launch more than one third of new products as a smaller portion size alternative to a standard product, including three significantly smaller ice cream choices.
	Premier Foods—70% of new products developed have reduced calories, including through new portion sizes.
	Sainsbury's Supermarket Ltd—has introduced multipacks of 11g snack bags and a range of five portion controlled individual bags of dried fruit.
	Seabrook Crisps Ltd—has reduced bag size in multipacks from 30g to 25g.
	Sodexo—will look into the feasibility of offering two portion sizes, if appropriate and provide guidance on what a standard portion size of a high calorie item would be.
	Subway International BV—has introduced a range of nine new low fat flatbreads to replace the wrap product. The flatbread is a smaller serving size than the wrap.
	Unilever UK Ltd—has introduced smaller ice cream servings.
	United Biscuits (UK) Ltd—has carried out a market trial of portion controlled biscuit packs.
	Waitrose—has introduced a range of seven kitchen portion tools to help consumers manage portion sizes of everyday foods in the home.
	Whitbread Group PLC (Beefeater)—will continually review portion sizes during product development and the promotion of different portion sizes.
	Companies' delivery plans and annual updates for the Responsibility Deal calorie reduction pledge can be found at:
	https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/pledges/pledge/7pN23

Obesity: Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the causes of (a) adult and (b) childhood obesity in Harlow constituency.

Jane Ellison: Local authorities (LAs), working with local and national partners across the health and social care system, have responsibility for public health and the assessment and provision of preventative and obesity treatment services.
	LAs now have access to local adult and child excess weight data, which will help them in identifying how to support effective behaviour change within their local demography and in making the case for action going forward.
	Public Health England is committed to supporting LAs by providing expert advice and is currently piloting a peer challenge approach with the Local Government Association, as part of the Health and Wellbeing Board sector-led improvement programme.

Out-patients: Attendance

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the NHS of missed appointments in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) Essex in the last 12 months.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has not made an estimate of the cost of missed national health service appointments.

Palliative Care

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that there should be universal access to 24 hours a day seven days a week community nursing services to support people to die at home if that is their choice; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of introducing such a policy.

Norman Lamb: The Government is committed to extending patient choice in end of life care, and a review will be looking into this issue this year. The provision of community palliative care services will be looked at as part of this review.

Parents

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) families, (b) mothers and (c) fathers have used CANParent vouchers during the time of the pilot project, broken down by provider; whether any of the parenting classes providers in each of the pilot areas continue to offer either free or paid-for parenting classes; what funding the Department has allocated to CANParent in the next (i) financial year and (ii) Parliament; how much was spent on the scheme, broken down by subheading; what plans the Government has for the national rollout of the scheme referred to in the launch of the trial; and when the final evaluation of the CANParent trial will be published.

Daniel Poulter: CANparent vouchers were available to parents of children ages 0-5 in the three trial areas of Camden, Middlesbrough and High Peak.
	The latest data, at 8 April 2014, held by the contractor managing the CANparent trial, show that parenting class providers have confirmed a total of 2,234 women and 211 men have attended CANparent classes since the start of the trial (full data is collected on class attendance by females and males, but not according to their relationship to children in the family). These totals are broken down by provider in the following table:
	
		
			  Total number starts Confirmed male Confirmed female 
			 Barnardo's 102 10 92 
			 City Lit 450 25 425 
			 Coram 24 3 21 
			 Derbyshire County Council 35 6 29 
			 Family Links 201 12 189 
			 Family Lives 10 2 8 
			 Family Matters Institute 25 4 21 
			 FAST 282 25 257 
			 Fatherhood Institute 32 13 19 
			 Montessori 32 6 26 
			 NCT 222 30 192 
			 Parent Gym 322 15 307 
			 REF 489 36 453 
			 Solihull Approach 219 24 195 
			 Total 2,445 211 2,234 
		
	
	The data on parenting class providers continuing to provide free or paid-for classes is not collected centrally.
	Market development work following on from the initial two-year trial, led by Family Lives, was transferred to the Department of Health from the Department for Education (DFE) on 1 April 2014 and is due to run until 31 March 2015. The budget for that work stands at £1,140,758.
	The trial will now run for one more year until March 2015. The budget for the one year extension of the CANParent trial stands at £1,286,000 for the 2014-15 financial year. No further funds have been committed to the project.
	According to DFE officials, from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013, the total amount spent on the CANParent trial was £1,248,640. From 1 April 2013 to the end of March 2014, the total was £2,228,806.
	The new phase of the CANparent trial is an opportunity to build on the successes of the first trial but with an increased emphasis on supporting and encouraging providers to think about the long-term sustainability of CANParent and how they will be delivering classes once the trial comes to an end. CANparent aims to create a cultural shift so it becomes the norm to seek advice and support on raising children, just as it is the norm to attend antenatal classes, so that children get the best start in life. During 2014-15, a programme of business support will be offered to parenting class providers.
	The DFE will publish the final evaluation of the initial two-year trial shortly. The publication of the final evaluation of the one-year extension will follow the completion of the trial in March 2015.

Parents

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of new parents have signed up to the NHS Information Service for Parents; how many people have accessed the specially-commissioned videos online to support the scheme since its introduction; what the annual budget is for the NHS Information Service for Parents; and what plans his Department has for the scheme in the next financial year and into the next parliament.

Daniel Poulter: Since the launch of Information Service for Parents (ISP) on the 7 April 2012 there have been 312,875 sign-ups to the service, 268,308 of these are actively subscribed, and a breakdown of these current subscribers is detailed as follows.
	
		
			 Current live subscribers  
			 E-mail only 198,079 
			 SMS only 129 
			 Both e-mail and SMS 70,100 
			 Total live 268,308 
		
	
	We do not know whether or not these subscribers are first-time parents, as this information is not requested/captured as part of the sign-up process.
	There have been 4,508,350 viewings of the videos since the launch of ISP (2,420,563 on NHS Choices and 2,087,787 on YouTube). It is not possible to break this figure down in to the number of people as requested, just the total number of times a video was started either on NHS Choices or YouTube.
	The Department transferred £300,000 to Public Health England (PHE) for the financial year 2013-14.
	The Department will transfer some funding to PHE in 2014-15 to support the work of the NHS Start4Life Information Service for Parents (S4LISP). Budget allocations are still to be confirmed but this sum is likely to be circa £1.5 million. PHE's total budget for the S4LISP will need to cover automated sign-up, content review and commissioning new content.

Physiotherapy: South Yorkshire

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on steps to ensure that specialist neuromuscular physiotherapy is provided to both children and adults with muscle-wasting conditions in South Yorkshire.

Norman Lamb: No Ministers in the Department have held such discussions. The provision of physiotherapy services is a matter for the local national health service.

Radiotherapy

Mike Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Vision for Radiotherapy 2014-24, published by Cancer Research UK and NHS England on 3 March 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The ‘Vision for Radiotherapy’ 2014-24 was co-produced by NHS England and Cancer Research UK and will be one of a number of sources, used to inform the development of future strategy and policy, particularly NHS England's five-year strategy for specialised services.

Reckitt Benckiser

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what total costs his Department incurred in relation to the Government's claim against Reckitt Benckiser in connection with the supply of Gaviscon to the NHS in England; what sums his Department will receive or has received in settlement of its claim against Reckitt Benckiser as announced on 28 February 2014; and what proportion of the sums to be received from Reckitt Benckiser relate to the costs incurred by his Department in bringing that claim.

Daniel Poulter: Details of the settlement of the Department's claim against Reckitt Benckiser in connection with the supply of Gaviscon to the national health service in England are commercially sensitive. It would not be in the public interest for information to be supplied.

Smoking

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of NHS's involvement in No Smoking Day on 12 March 2014 and the performance of the NHS Choices Stop Smoking app.

Jane Ellison: NHS Smokefree is a public health campaign initiated and supported by Public Health England (PHE), an executive agency of the Department. PHE worked collaboratively with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) as part of the NHS Smokefree campaign to support No Smoking Day (NSD) 2014.
	Since 1 April 2013, NHS Smokefree has been run from PHE. The campaign has recently drawn to a close and we are currently in the process of evaluating the effectiveness of the activity. We will not specifically be making an assessment of the NHS's involvement in NSD, but the evaluation will provide an assessment of the overall campaign effectiveness.
	As part of the campaign, PHE worked with the BHF to provide collateral such as posters and leaflets to a number of partners, including: pharmacies, employers, housing associations and local areas, to support NSD 2014. We also piloted a new One Day Quit tool.
	The NHS Choices Stop Smoking app helps people to stop smoking by providing motivational messages and support. Since its launch in 2010, the app has received 315,000 downloads. To date, the app has been downloaded 23,000 times in 2014.

Smoking: Bolton

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Bolton have received assistance from the NHS to stop smoking in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Information is available for the number of 'quit attempts' through the NHS Stop Smoking Service in the former Bolton Primary Care Trust area. People may also receive national health service assistance that is not recorded in this dataset:
	
		
			 April to March each year Number of quit attempts 
			 2010-11 4,504 
			 2011-12 4,763 
		
	
	
		
			 2012-13 5,024 
			 Notes: 1. The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) collects data from the NHS Stop Smoking Services as part of the NHS Stop Smoking Services Quarterly Monitoring Returns Forms, undertaken since 2005 by the HSCIC on behalf of the Department of Health. 2. Only people who set a quit date through the NHS Stop Smoking Services are included in the Quarterly Monitoring Returns. Those who attend the service, but do not set a quit date are not included. 3. A person may make more than one quit attempt, therefore the figures in this dataset do not represent the number of people using the service. Source: The Health and Social Care Information Centre, Lifestyles Statistics.

Thalidomide

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Birkenhead, of 5 March 2014, Official Report, column 886W, on thalidomide, if he will make representations to his German counterpart on compensation from Grünenthal to UK victims of thalidomide.

Norman Lamb: The Department has no current plans to make representations to the German Government on the subject of compensation from Grünenthal to the United Kingdom victims of thalidomide.
	I hope to meet with representatives of the Thalidomide Trust to discuss this issue further.

TRANSPORT

Consultants

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

Stephen Hammond: The following table sets out the 10 professional services consultancy firms paid the most by the Department during the 11 months of the financial year 2013-14 for which we have data. These companies are sorted in descending level of departmental expenditure.
	
		
			 Company name Total spend for periods 1 to 11 of financial year 2013-14 (£) 
			 Eversheds LLP 13,829,112 
			 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 3,245,153 
			 Systems Up Ltd 706,248 
			 DTZ 414,077 
			 Allen & Overy 236,786 
			 Cubic Transportation Systems Ltd 234,598 
			 Thompsons Solicitors 234,260 
			 Nabarro LLP 200,614 
			 Rowsell Wright Ltd 160,486 
			 Boyes Turner LLP 160,000

Motor Vehicles: Seized Articles

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles have been crushed as a result of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database errors since July 2013.

Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold the information requested.
	If the DVLA is made aware of any enforcement action taken as a result of an error, officials consider compensating for any losses incurred. Each case is considered individually.

Motor Vehicles: Seized Articles

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will request the Driving Standards Agency and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to waive charges arising from car seizures as a result of database classification errors.

Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency does not seize and impound cars.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) adopts a compliance and enforcement approach to ensuring vehicle excise duty is paid. This includes reminder letters and late licensing penalties as well as court prosecutions and the wheelclamping and/or removal of unlicensed vehicles.
	If the DVLA is made aware of any action taken as a result of an error, officials will consider refunding any charges incurred. Each case is considered individually.

Parking: Fines

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many foreign-registered cars received a parking penalty charge in each year since 2010; how many parking penalty charges for foreign-registered vehicles went unpaid in each year; and what the value was of these unpaid parking charges.

Robert Goodwill: This is a matter for individual local authorities who are required to keep records of all penalty charge notices issued including those issued to drivers of foreign-registered vehicles. The Department for Transport does not record this information centrally.

Railways: Stansted Airport

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on efforts to improve the frequency of services by Cross Country trains between Peterborough and Stansted airport; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State for Transport has not received any representations from Cross Country Trains regarding frequency improvements to their services between Peterborough and Stansted airport.

Road Traffic: Greater London

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effects of congestion charging on traffic movements in London in each year since the introduction of such charging.

Stephen Hammond: Under the terms of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, transport in London, including the Congestion Charge scheme, is the responsibility of Transport for London and the Mayor. Therefore, the Department for Transport has not made an assessment specifically about traffic movements in London in each year since the introduction of congestion charging.

Rolling Stock: Lancashire

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from (a) local authorities and (b) hon. Members in Lancashire on rolling stock in Lancashire.

Stephen Hammond: Discussions have taken place with Lancashire county council on the provision of rolling stock for a new Manchester to Burnley and Blackburn via Rochdale service. A number of representations have been received from hon. Members concerning rolling stock in Lancashire, including at the Westminster Hall debate on rolling stock provision in the North of England on 12 March 2014.

Schools: Cycling

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2014, Official Report, column 411W, on transport: schools, how many (a) schools and (b) pupils took part in Bikeability cycle training in each year since 2005.

Robert Goodwill: Funding provided by the Department for Transport (DFT) for Bikeability cycle training began in financial year 2006-07.
	Data collection since then has consisted mainly of the number of places delivered by each Bikeability grant recipient. Therefore it is not possible to fully answer (A), however, the current estimate is that 8,177 schools take part in training delivered by either their Local Highway Authority or School Games Organiser Host School.
	The number of places delivered using DFT grant funding until 31 March 2013 is available and the totals are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2006-07 7,983 
			 2007-08 26,894 
			 2008-09 92,579 
			 2009-10 133,984 
			 2010-11 199,197 
			 2011-12 293,969 
			 2012-13 255,833 
			 Total 1,010,439

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to update the current Air Navigation Order to define and categorise unmanned aircraft systems. [R]

Robert Goodwill: The safe operation of civil Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) in the UK is governed by the requirements of the Air Navigation Order 2009 (ANO). RPA with an operating mass of more than 20 kg are subject to regulation as though they are manned aircraft.
	RPA with an operating mass of 20 kg or less are referred to as ‘small unmanned aircraft’. Small unmanned aircraft are exempt from the majority of the regulations that normally apply to manned aircraft, however their use is specifically covered by two articles within the ANO, which legislate for the ‘general’ flying aspects and the flight of those equipped for surveillance. As well as these specific articles however, a more general article which prevents a person ‘causing or permitting an aircraft to endanger the safety of any person or property’ also remains applicable. There are no current plans to further categorise RPA.

West Coast Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the average load factor of West Coast Mainline trains leaving London Euston in 2013.

Stephen Hammond: The requested information is not available, however a number of similar statistics relating to 2012 are available via this link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/rai02-capacity-and-overcrowding
	Average load factors for all services departing Euston can be calculated from the data in Table RA10213.
	The percentage of passengers in excess of capacity (PiXC) and the number of passengers standing is given for the three hour peaks for all franchised operators in Table RA10215.
	Equivalent statistics for 2013 will be available in July 2014.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on the number of (a) aggravated assaults against members of the armed forces and (b) times members of the armed forces were discriminated against in bars, restaurants and hotels in each year since 2003.

Anna Soubry: This information is not held by the Department.

Armed Forces: Pay

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's notice 2014DIN01-021, Revision of cost-of-living addition salary bands;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's notice 2014DIN01-032, Increase in the rate of excess fares allowance from 6 April 2014.

Anna Soubry: Copies of the Department’s notice on the revision of the cost of living addition salary bands (2014DIN01-021) and the increase in the rate of excess fares allowance from 6 April 2014 (2014DIN01-032) have been placed in the Library of the House.

RAF Menwith Hill

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department was (a) aware of the nature of and (b) consulted before the start of surveillance being carried out at NSA Menwith Hills.

Mark Francois: Operations at RAF Menwith Hill have always been, and continue to be, carried out with the knowledge and consent of the UK Government.

Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to promote the commercialisation of scientific and technological research by his Department and its agencies.

Philip Dunne: The National Security through Technology White Paper (Cm 8278) lays out our commitment to open procurement, and that the Department and its agencies will conduct research and development only where it is essential for our national security.
	The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), a Ministry of Defence (MOD) Trading Fund, delivers the majority of the MOD’s Science and Technology Programme. Any ideas generated within Dstl can be commercialised through Ploughshare Innovations Ltd, a technology transfer company owned by Dstl.
	Where external suppliers are contracted, the MOD leaves the intellectual property rights of any discovery or technology with those suppliers to commercialise. The MOD retains rights to disclose and use the intellectual property for UK Government purposes.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business: Loans

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to increase the availability of credit for small businesses in (a) Bolton North East constituency and (b) England in the last year.

Matthew Hancock: The Government is committed to ensuring businesses can access the finance they need for investment and growth.
	The Bank of England and HM Treasury announced in November that the Funding for Lending scheme would be focused on lending to businesses to reflect the success that the scheme has had with households. Lending under the Funding for Lending Scheme has totalled over £16 billion according to the latest figures.
	The British Business Bank is being established to ensure that business finance markets work efficiently and effectively for smaller businesses, and its loan guarantee and investment programmes supported £660 million of lending and investment in 2013 across the UK.
	A breakdown of the value of debt finance facilitated to businesses in Bolton North East constituency and England through British Business Bank programmes in the last year is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme (drawn down) Start Up Loans Scheme (drawn down) Lending facilitated by the Business Finance Partnership 
			 Bolton North East constituency 7 loans with a value of £1.14 million 24 loans with a value of £117,330 North West Region: 462 loans with a value of nearly £27 million 
			 England 2,857 loans with a value of £307.6 million 13,432 with a value of over £75 million 3,721 loans provided with a value of nearly £226 million

Consultants

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

Jennifer Willott: Under this Government's transparency programme, details of spend are published on gov.uk which is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments %5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills

Digital Technology

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to promote digital industries in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Government published its Information Economy Strategy on 14 June 2013 which sets out how we will work with business and academic partners to promote digital industries across the UK. I am now working with the Information Economy Council to deliver the actions in the Strategy. The Technology Strategy Board is also investing in a range of programmes, including Collaborative Research and Development competitions and the Connected Digital Economy Catapult Centre, to support UK companies working in the digital industries.

Employment Agencies

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.

Jennifer Willott: Under this Government's transparency programme, details of spend are published on gov.uk which are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments %5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills
	To provide the level of detail requested in relation to agency fees would incur disproportionate cost.

Engineering: Females

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that more women are able to take up senior positions in engineering businesses.

Jennifer Willott: The Government is working with employers, professional bodies and HE and FE institutions to encourage more women to enter engineering and to remove barriers to their progression.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) funds the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering jointly to run a programme of work aimed at understanding and addressing issues of diversity in the STEM work force.
	The Royal Academy of Engineering has developed a diversity concordat which 70% of engineering institutions, representing over 90% of registered engineers, have now signed. They also run the Diversity Leadership Group, made up of senior industrial representatives from an array of engineering disciplines who steer and review collective actions to increase the size and diversity of the engineering talent pool.
	BIS contributes to the cost of hosting the finals of the National Science and Engineering Competition at the annual Big Bang Fair which took place last month. 55% of Competition prizewinners were girls and the Fair promoted Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers to a record number of schoolchildren.
	BIS also funds STEMNET to run the STEM Ambassadors programme: a nationwide network of over 27,000 volunteers who visit schools to bring STEM career opportunities to life. 40% of STEM Ambassadors are women.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many tier 4 visa applications were refused for applicants intending to study at each English university in the last year for which records are available; and what guidance his Department issues to universities on retaining fees paid by students whose applications for such visas are subsequently refused.

David Willetts: Statistics on Tier 4 refusals are published in the Home Office's quarterly Immigration Statistics, available in the Libraries of the House and at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
	Information relating to individual institutions is not published in line with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Information on the number of refusals of tier 4 visa applications by education sector or by individual institution is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	As autonomous bodies, individual UK HE institutions are able to decide their own tuition fee refund policy including what refunds will be made to overseas students who are subsequently refused a visa to study in the UK. The Department does not issue guidance, however, the QAA has issued guidance in 2012 for institutions on sponsoring international students which included recommendations on refund procedures for international students.

Innovation

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to promote innovation within industry; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: This Government is fully committed to improving the UK's innovation performance as an essential component of its growth plan. Innovation has long been, and will continue to be, a key driver of UK growth and economic prosperity, accounting for up to 70% of economic growth in the long-term.
	The UK's Industrial Strategy, a new long-term partnership between business and all parts of Government, has identified a range of opportunities to help create growth for the future, from developing new skills and securing critical investment, to commercialising our scientific research and inventions.
	Support for technologies is one of five core themes of the Industrial Strategy. The Government has identified “Eight Great Technologies” where the UK's science strengths and business capabilities combine to give us world-leading potential and announced an additional £600 million investment to help support their development from laboratory to marketplace.
	We have made the Technology Strategy Board the Government's prime channel for supporting business-led technology innovation, which delivers a range of interventions in support of innovative businesses, such as the network of Catapult Centres and collaborative research and development competitions.
	We have also put in place a range of wider policies to support innovation which include a tax regime that supports innovation, investment and enterprise that enables the UK to be internationally competitive, as the increasingly international nature of innovation means that it is crucial for the UK and its businesses and universities to remain active in the global innovation ecosystem.
	We know that other leading innovators and the emerging economies are increasing their investment in science and innovation and that we need to strengthen our own performance in some areas and build on our acknowledged strengths to retain our position as one of the world's leading innovation countries.
	This is why we will be developing a new Science and Innovation Strategy to be published this autumn. This will set out the future shape and scale of the UK's science and innovation system and look at how we measure the system's performance and the key challenges that the UK needs to address to maintain its global leadership position.

Minimum Wage

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of rates of national minimum wage non-compliance in each (a) sector and (b) region; what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people of each gender who are paid below the national minimum wage; and what information on such people is (i) collected and (ii) held.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated April 2014
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent estimate he has made of rates of national minimum wage non-compliance in each (a) sector and (b) region; and what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people of each gender who are paid below the national minimum wage and what information is (i) collected and (ii) held. (195240)
	Information on non-compliance with the national minimum wage is not available from ONS. The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Hourly levels of pay are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. ASHE data are used to produce estimates of the number and proportion of employee jobs with hourly pay below the national minimum wage. However, these figures cannot be used as a measure of non-compliance with legislation. This is because it is not possible to determine from the survey data whether an individual is eligible for the minimum wage. For example, it is not possible to identify people such as apprentices and those undergoing training who are exempt from the minimum wage rate or are entitled to lower rates. In addition, if employees receive free accommodation, employers are entitled to offset hourly rates.
	In April 2013, the latest period for which results are available, there were 131 thousand jobs held by men (1.0 per cent of employee jobs held by men) and 148 thousand jobs held by women (1.1 per cent of employee jobs held by women) with hourly pay below the national minimum wage in the UK.
	ASHE is based on a one per cent sample of employee jobs taken from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) records. Information on earnings and hours is obtained from employers and treated confidentially.

National Renewable Energy Centre

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects of the National Renewable Energy Centre on its local economy.

Michael Fallon: BIS has not made an assessment of the impact of the National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) on its local economy. Narec has created a world leading suite of testing facilities for the offshore renewable energy sector. The recently announced merger with the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult will accelerate the design, deployment and commercialisation of offshore renewable energy technology and help the UK capture the economic opportunity presented by this sector.

Private Sector

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many jobs have been transferred from the public to the private sector as a result of privatisations or outsourcing by his Department since May 2010.

Michael Fallon: Following the sale of 60% of Government shares in Royal Mail on 15 October 2013 some 150,000 Royal Mail jobs in the UK transferred from the public sector to the private sector.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many bids by LEPS to the (a) regional growth fund and (b) exceptional regional growth fund have been (i) under discussion with officials, (ii) submitted, (iii) approved and (iv) rejected in each (A) bidding round and (B) region.

Michael Fallon: All bids received to the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) and for exceptional RGF (eRGF) support are discussed with officials as part of the appraisal process. The following table lists bids received directly from local enterprise partnerships to the RGF by bidding round and the outcome.
	
		
			 RGF Round 2 
			 Region Number of bids received Number of bids selected Number of bids not selected 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 5 1 4 
			 North East 3 0 3 
			 South East 2 2 0 
			 North West 3 2 1 
			 East Midlands 4 2 2 
			 West Midlands 2 2 0 
			 East of England 0 0 0 
			 South West 3 2 1 
		
	
	
		
			 RGF Round 3 
			 Region Number of bids received Number of bids selected Number of bids not selected 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 3 3 0 
			 North East 2 2 0 
			 South East 4 4 0 
			 North West 3 3 0 
			 East Midlands 4 4 0 
			 West Midlands 8 4 4 
			 East of England 1 1 0 
			 South West 4 1 3 
		
	
	
		
			 RGF Round 4 
			 Region Number of bids received Number of bids selected Number of bids not selected 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 3 3 0 
			 North East 1 1 0 
			 South East 5 3 2 
			 North West 4 3 1 
			 East Midlands 3 3 0 
			 West Midlands 7 7 0 
			 East of England 2 2 0 
			 South West 1 1 0

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what the total value is of all bids to each round of the Regional Growth Fund; how much has been committed to winning bidders in each Regional Growth Fund bidding round; and how much such funding has been drawn down in each region to date;
	(2)  what the total value is of funds not yet drawn down by winning bidders under the regional growth fund in each bidding round and region;
	(3)  how much funding allocated under the Regional Growth Fund in each (a) holding and (b) region has not yet been drawn down by winning bidders.

Michael Fallon: Regional breakdown of RGF allocations for each bidding round (Rounds 1-4) including the amount drawn down and remaining to be drawn down are provided in the following tables. This data is as at 2 April. The RGF not drawn down for Rounds 1 to 4 totals £1,238 million. Of this, currently, £1,152 million is budgeted to be drawn down in 2014-15 and later years. Payments schedules are agreed with companies and payments are made when they need them.
	
		
			 Round 1 
			 £ million 
			 Region RGF allocation RGF drawdown RGF not drawn down 
			 North West 21 19 2 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 47 39 8 
			 North East 34 34 0 
			 West Midlands 89 22 67 
			 East Midlands 2 2 0 
			 East of England 16 10 6 
			 South East and London 0 0 0 
			 South West 4 4 0 
			 National 175 175 0 
			 Total 388 305 83 
		
	
	
		
			 Round 2 
			 £ million 
			 Region RGF allocation RGF drawdown RGF not drawn down 
			 Northwest 189 123 66 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 68 45 23 
			 North East 64 56 8 
			 West Midlands 91 87 4 
			 East Midlands 80 49 31 
			 East of England 35 20 15 
			 South East and London 60 45 15 
			 South West 71 69 2 
			 National 90 80 10 
			 Total 748 574 174 
		
	
	
		
			 Round 3 
			 £ million 
			 Region RGF allocation RGF drawdown RGF not drawn down 
			 North West 113 43 70 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 63 28 35 
			 North East 113 44 69 
			 West Midlands 158 24 134 
			 East Midlands 57 14 43 
			 East of England 25 8 17 
			 South East and London 48 18 30 
			 South West 82 8 74 
			 National 177 75 102 
			 Total 836 262 574 
		
	
	
		
			 Round 4 
			 £ million 
			 Region RGF allocation RGF drawdown RGF not drawn down 
			 North West 96 5 91 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 30 2 28 
			 North East 33 1 32 
			 West Midlands 65 1 64 
			 East Midlands 41 1 40 
			 East of England 15 3 12 
			 South East and London 25 2 23 
			 South West 14 0 14 
			 National 115 12 103 
			 Total 434 27 407

Regional Growth Fund: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much was (a) committed to and (b) spent in each constituency in the East Midlands through the Regional Growth Fund in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013 and (v) 2014 to date.

Michael Fallon: We do not hold information in the format requested. However, the following table details the amount of Regional Growth Fund (RGF) allocated to and paid in each constituency in the East Midlands from the first four bidding rounds. In addition, £82.2 million has been allocated to nine programmes in the East Midlands, which support small and medium-sized enterprises across the region. Of this, £19.6 million has been paid to date.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Constituency RGF committed RGF spent 
			 Bassetlaw 1,328,460 1,328,460 
			 Bosworth 19,671,000 16,284,417 
			 Charnwood 4,170,000 4,168,871 
			 Leicester South 1,072,800 249,301 
			 Lincoln 5,575,000 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Nottingham North 1,600,000 1,599,999 
			 Nottingham South 2,871,460 727,471 
			 Sherwood 495,000 0 
			 South Derbyshire 6,300,000 0

Royal Mail

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what category of investor Lansdowne Partners was with regard to the sale of Royal Mail.

Michael Fallon: All investors in Royal Mail—whether individuals or institutions—have a reasonable expectation of privacy; therefore we have not disclosed the names of specific investors and their involvement in the IPO process.

Self-employed

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of people who run a small or medium-sized enterprise as a secondary form of income alongside another job.

Matthew Hancock: Information is not available to answer this question. However, data from the Office for National Statistics estimate that around 400,000 people describe themselves as self employed in their second jobs between October 2012 and September 2013.

Skilled Workers: Immigration

Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of migration on UK businesses which require highly-skilled employees.

Vincent Cable: We recently published analysis proving that highly skilled migrants are not displacing UK workers. Indeed, in many sectors such as engineering and digital technologies, they're filling skills gaps and starting new companies.
	Business groups tell me that an open labour market helps foreign investment in the UK and that migrants foster innovation and growth by bringing in new ideas, language skills and assisting trade links overseas. So overall, it's a positive picture.

Social Enterprises: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many social enterprises there were in Brighton, Kemptown constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Jennifer Willott: BIS does not have constituency level data on social enterprises. Using data from the 2012 BIS 'Small Business Survey' and the 'Business Population Estimates for the UK and Regions 2013', BIS estimate that in 2013 approximately five% (or 60,000) of small and medium-sized enterprise employers1 in the UK were social enterprises
	2
	. It is not possible to provide reliable information for smaller geographical areas.
	1 Small and medium-sized employers with between 1 and 249 employees.
	2 Defined as an enterprise that considers itself a social enterprise and that should not pay more than 50% of profit or surplus to owners or shareholders, should not generate more than 25% of income from grants and donations and, therefore, should not have less than 75% of turnover from trading.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on raising the cap on the amount of student loan accessible by students studying at alternative learning providers.

David Willetts: There currently are no plans to raise the cap on the amount of student loan accessible by students studying at alternative providers. Alternative providers are not subject to the same regulatory conditions as those providers whose students can access fee loans of up to £9,000. In particular, the fees that they may charge students are not subject to a cap, nor are these providers required to put in place an Access Agreement.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's estimate is of the latest RAB charge for further education students.

Matthew Hancock: The Department models the proportion of loans which we expect will not be repaid (the RAB charge). The 2012 impact assessment on the introduction of 24+ Advanced Learning Loans stated that we anticipated this RAB charge would be 60% of the total loan amount. Now that we are beginning to receive figures on actual learner numbers, we are reviewing the assumptions within the RAB charge model. This 60% figure may therefore be subject to change in the future.

UK Trade and Investment

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) bonuses, (b) additional salary increments and (c) premiums are offered to UK Trade & Investment staff for proficiency in foreign languages; for which foreign languages these are available; what level of financial support is available for each language; and how many staff receive support for each foreign language for which support is offered.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) draws mainly on civil service staff employed by one or other of its two parent Departments—the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).
	BIS does not give bonuses, additional salary increments or premiums to the staff of UKTI for proficiency in any foreign languages. BIS does however actively encourage individuals to learn languages and they have access to the FCO's language school.

UK Trade and Investment: Nigeria

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the quality and performance of UK Trade and Investment support for UK-Nigeria partnerships in (a) financial services, (b) the creative industries and (c) educational services.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) carries out an in-depth assessment of its overall impact each quarter via the Performance Impact Monitoring Survey (PIMS). Generic assessments of specific sectors are carried out externally on behalf of UKTI. The business impact of individual services and activities is also monitored by the teams delivering them.
	UKTI delivers a range of services in relation to Nigeria in the sectors specified, both bespoke services for individual companies and broader activities. These are in line with sector strategies for the market. Some recent examples include a financial services mission to Nigeria in March organised by UKTI, in partnership with Nigerian Diaspora individuals working in the City of London. Also in March, UKTI Nigeria worked with UK and Nigerian stakeholders to deliver an SME event in Lagos focused on creative industries. This was followed in early April by a videoconference between UK and Nigerian companies engaged in fashion retail. UKTI was also involved in a local education event in Lagos in early April during which Nigerian requirements were successfully matched to UK companies offering relevant expertise.
	All participants who commented on these events reported that they found their participation useful. All have identified follow up actions and UKTI will be monitoring successes which ensue.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Children

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children were placed in local authority care in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children there were in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: Figures for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASCs) placed in local authority care are not available from published statistics.
	In 2012 and 2013 there were 1,125 and 1,174 applications received from UASCs, excluding dependants.
	Figures on a comparable basis are not available for previous years.
	The Home Office publishes statistics on asylum applications from UASCs in tables as_08 and as_08_q (Asylum data tables Volume 2) of the release Immigration Statistics available from:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2013
	This release is available from the Library of the House.

Asylum: Syria

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Syrians have been brought to the UK under the Vulnerable Person Relocation Scheme to date.

James Brokenshire: The first group of Syrian refugees arrived in the UK on 25 March as part of the Government's Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) Scheme. The next group of refugees are expected to arrive this month, with further groups to follow on a regular basis. While there is no set quota we predict that the VPR scheme will support several hundred people over the next three years.

Borders: Personal Records

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of report by the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration of the critical system vulnerabilities in Semaphore and Warnings Index; and what steps she took in response to that report;
	(2)  what steps she has taken to implement changes as a result of the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration report Exporting the border?: An inspection of e-Borders.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has responded to the report on ‘Exporting the border?: An inspection of e-Borders’. This response can be found at:
	http://icinspector.independent.gov.uk/inspections/inspection-reports/2012-inspection-reports-2/

Borders: Scotland

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of (a) the cost to set up and (b) annual running costs of full border control with Scotland.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has made no estimate of (a) the cost to set up and (b) the annual running costs of full border control with Scotland.

Consultants

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by her Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

Karen Bradley: Information on the 10 consultancy firms that were paid the most by the Home Department for the last financial year and how much each of those firms were paid is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Supplier Name Total cost/value (£) 
			 1. Detica Ltd 7,220,985 
			 2. Pa Consulting Services Ltd 6,084,558 
			 3. Ernst And Young LLP 2,575,080 
			 4. KPMG LLP 2,259,099 
			 5. Deloitte 855,360 
		
	
	
		
			 6. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 676,871 
			 7. Broadcasting Support Services 387,268 
			 8. X-Net 298,407 
			 9. Roke Manor Research Ltd 94,262 
			 10. i01 Ltd 45,704

Domestic Violence

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of victims who took part in the research used in the report Everyone's business; Improving the police response to domestic abuse were (a) male and (b) female.

Norman Baker: As part of its inspection of the police response to domestic violence and abuse, which was the basis for the report “Everyone's business: Improving the police response to domestic abuse”, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) held focus groups and interviews with 80 victims, of which six were male.
	HMIC also circulated an electronic self-completion victim survey to inform its inspection. 532 victims of domestic abuse completed the survey, of which 483 were female, 39 were male and 10 preferred not to disclose their gender.

Employment Agencies

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for her Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.

Karen Bradley: The five companies that were used most often to provide temporary workers for the Home Department in the last financial year and the total cost of these services are set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Supplier name Number of contracts Total cost/value (£) 
			 Methods Consulting Ltd 241 15,415,826 
			 Badenoch and Clark 56 2,905,149 
			 LA International 55 3,574,736 
			 Advantage Technical Resourcing 45 4,271,513 
			 Experis Ltd 40 2,011,081 
			 Notes: 1. The data is only representative of core Home Office and agency data, it does not include any arm’s length body (ALBs) organisations. 2. The data is from April 2013 to February 2014 inclusive.

Entry Clearances: India

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what comparative assessment her Department has made of the cost to Indian nationals of applying for a (a) UK and (b) US student visa.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office assesses visa fees annually, to ensure the fees charged by the UK are competitive with similar endorsement types offered by other countries.

Entry Clearances: India

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for study visas by Indian nationals were (a) granted and (b) refused in the year ending (i) September 2012 and (ii) September 2013.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Entry clearance study visas resolved by outcome: Indian nationals (main applicants, Tier 4 and pre-PBS equivalents) 
			   Of which: 
			  Resolved Issued Refused Withdrawn Lapsed 
			 Year ending September 2012 21,738 17,011 4,322 275 130 
			 Year ending September 2013 16,669 12,926 3,524 202 17 
		
	
	The latest Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance study visas issued (by nationality) and refused, are published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics release, which is available from the Library of the House and on the Department’s website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to investigate the English language test results of students who completed English language tests organised by ETS in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has suspended acceptance of all ETS tests taken and used in the UK while the scope of the issue is ascertained and to determine the number of people who have taken a test and been involved in fraud. We have specialist teams in place to undertake this analysis.
	We are looking at all current and past applications. Anyone who is found to have used or is currently trying to use evidence that they obtained dishonestly can expect to have their leave curtailed and be removed from the UK or have any outstanding application refused and leave the UK. We will also seek criminal prosecution where appropriate and use all of the measures that we have available.
	Our reforms have curbed abuse by closing bogus colleges, making the application process more rigorous and imposing more rules on colleges to improve course quality. However, as the recent BBC Panorama programme highlighted, much more needs to be done.
	The Government will take all necessary steps, but our approach also requires the education sector, particularly private or further education colleges and those providing secure English language testing, to take on their responsibility to tackle abuse.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a record of those institutions which have made a conditional offer to overseas students whose application for a visa is subsequently refused.

James Brokenshire: When a sponsor issues a student with an unconditional offer of a place on a course, it will assign a confirmation of acceptance of studies (CAS) via using the sponsorship management system.
	The only time a sponsor can offer a conditional place is when a student holds B1 English and wishes to study B2 English on a pre-sessional course before their main course of study.
	Full details relating to issuing of conditional offers to overseas students are set out in the tier 4 sponsor guidance which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270492/sponsor-guidancet4.pdf
	As sponsors issue CAS on a daily basis, there are no plans to place any records in the Library.

EU Immigration

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to work with other EU member states to reduce the number of deaths of immigrants illegally coming to the EU via the sea.

James Brokenshire: The Government continues to have regular discussions with our EU partners in order to ensure that all member states operate effective asylum and border management systems, including through cooperation with countries of origin and transit beyond the EU. This includes the UK's participation in the EU's Task Force Mediterranean, established following the Lampedusa tragedy last year to develop actions to prevent further deaths at sea.
	The Task Force involves member states, the European Commission, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and key EU agencies {including Frontex, the European Asylum Support Office and Europol). It has developed a series of coherent actions, including cooperation with third countries and combating the organised criminals who facilitate many of these dangerous sea crossings.
	The Government strongly supports the Task Force proposal to develop information campaigns in countries of origin and transit as part of wider prevention efforts, and has shared our experience in this area with EU partners.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what discussion she has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on transitional arrangements to cover the potential gap between the UK Government opting out of EU justice measures and negotiating its re-entry into specific measures;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the potential effect on Scotland's justice system of the UK Government opting out of EU justice measures and then negotiating its re-entry into specific measures.

Karen Bradley: The Government is clear that there is no need for there to be an operational gap after 1 December, and is negotiating on that basis. Other member states support the UK position and are keen for this process to be concluded as swiftly as possible to provide certainty for all involved.
	The Government has engaged with the devolved Administrations throughout this process at ministerial and official level. The Minister for Security and Immigration, my hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (James Brokenshire), visited Edinburgh last year, where he met the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill, representatives from the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland and the Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC. I plan to visit Edinburgh to discuss this matter further later this year.

Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vehicles were impounded under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not hold this information centrally.

Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil penalties were imposed on hauliers under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The number of civil penalties imposed on hauliers under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in each year since 2010 is as follows;
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010-11 814 
			 2011-12 648 
			 2012-13 915 
		
	
	The 2013-14 figure cannot be provided as penalties for this period will continue to be imposed as the process of evidence gathering and recommendations continue.

Immigration Controls

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2014, Official Report, column 821W, on immigration controls, what procedures are in place to ensure that immigration officers ensure the removal of any face coverings before authorising entry to the UK; how many incidents have been recorded where the correct procedures relating to the removal of face coverings have not been followed by immigration officers in each of the last three years; and what disciplinary action has been taken in such incidents in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: This information is not held centrally.

LGBT People

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with chief constables in England and Wales about hate crimes against LGBT people; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The coalition Government is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime and works closely with the National Policing Lead on hate crime.
	We will shortly publish our progress report on the Government's hate crime action plan, which will set out a range of activities that have been taken forward, including by the police.
	New hate crime guidance, which includes information on dealing with cases of hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities will be issued by the College of Policing this Spring.

Motor Vehicles: Seized Articles

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many vehicles have been seized by police officers as a result of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency classification database errors since July 2013;
	(2)  how many seized vehicles have been released by police officers as a result of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency correction of database errors since July 2013.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold this information. The police have the power under the Road Traffic Act 1988 to seize vehicles driven without licence or insurance. Enforcement of vehicle seizures is an operational matter for the police.

Offenders: Deportation

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people deported by the Border Agency since May 2010 have subsequently been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK.

James Brokenshire: This information is not held centrally and would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Private Sector

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many jobs have been transferred from the public to the private sector as a result of privatisations or outsourcing by her Department since May 2010.

Karen Bradley: Since May 2010, 77 posts have transferred from the Home Department to the private sector as a result of outsourcing.

Proceeds of Crime

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, columns 615-16W, on proceeds of crime 
	(1)  whether the requests for repatriation of assets arose from charges against public officials suspected of corruption offences or wider criminal charges;
	(2)  how many requests from jurisdictions overseas to repatriate frozen assets the Government has received; and which jurisdictions made those requests.

Karen Bradley: It is the usual policy to neither confirm nor deny the existence, content or status of any individual requests to repatriate assets.

Refuges

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on the number of specialist refuge places for women from black and minority ethnic communities.

Kris Hopkins: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	This Department does not hold the information requested. Decisions on the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic abuse are for local authorities: we expect local authorities to build services based on the needs of their communities, taking account of locally available data sources.
	The dynamics of domestic abuse mean that accommodation can play an important role in the resolution of interpersonal abuse and conflict. This is why the homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and for vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.
	There is a range of support for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.
	This Department funds UKRefugesOnline, a UK-wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24-hour free phone domestic violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.
	This Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of stable funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund 54 multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators and 144 independent domestic violence advisers. We have piloted and rolled out Clare's Law and domestic violence protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learned from individual tragedies.

Stalking

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  in what proportion of cases where (a) an allegation of stalking was made or (b) a criminal conviction was obtained for stalking the victim was a woman and the perpetrator a man in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  in what proportion of cases where (a) an allegation of stalking was made or (b) a criminal conviction was obtained for stalking the victim was a man and the perpetrator a man in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  in what proportion of cases where (a) an allegation of stalking was made or (b) a criminal conviction was obtained for stalking the victim was a man and the perpetrator a woman in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(4)  in what proportion of cases where (a) an allegation of domestic violence was made or (b) a criminal conviction was obtained for domestic violence the victim was a man and the perpetrator a woman in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(5)  in what proportion of cases where (a) an allegation of domestic violence was made or (b) a criminal conviction was obtained for domestic violence the victim was a man and the perpetrator a man in the latest period for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The requested information is not available centrally.
	Home Office police recorded crime only covers offences recorded by the police and not allegations. Furthermore, it is not possible to identify domestic violence cases from the recorded crime figures returned to the Home Office by police forces as these figures are based on counts of crime under the appropriate offence classification (e.g. GBH, ABH).
	With regard to stalking, the police started recording offences on April 1st 2014. Stalking offences recorded by the police will be included as part of the regular crime statistics publications in due course.
	The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the specific circumstances of each case. This centrally held information does not specifically identify whether the crime was committed against males or females for the offences of stalking and domestic violence. This detailed information may be held on individual court files but is not reported to Justice Statistics Analytical Services due to its size and complexity. As such this information can only be obtained by the Ministry of Justice at disproportionate cost.

Stephen Lawrence

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the terms of reference are for the inquiry led by Mark Ellison QC announced on 6 March 2014 into whether undercover police officers caused miscarriages of justice; whether Mr Ellison will be given access to all documentation from Operation Herne for his review; whether members of the public will be able to give evidence to Mr Ellison during his review; and whether the review will cover cases involving the National Public Order Intelligence Unit.

Damian Green: The scope and terms of reference for this review are being determined. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), made it clear in her statement to the House on 6 March 2014, Official Report, column 1063, that
	“Mark Ellison and the CPS will be provided with whatever access they judge necessary to relevant documentary evidence.”

Surveillance

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many warrants to undertake surveillance on British nationals were issued by her Department between 1989 and 1992.

James Brokenshire: As indicated in the debate on 12 February 2014, Official Report, column 858, both the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Investigatory Powers Tribunal provide an avenue for investigating concerns in this area.
	As a matter of long-standing practice, we do not routinely comment on the detailed use of interception and surveillance, or provide a breakdown of the number of warrants signed in relation to specific circumstances or nationalities.
	Figures for the overall number of interception warrants authorised by the Secretary of State during the period 1989-1992 were published in the Annual Report to the Prime Minister by the Interception Commissioner under the legislation then in force (the Interception of Communications Act 1985). The published figures are as follows.
	Figures for the overall number of interception warrants authorised by the Secretary of State under the Interception of Communications Act 1985 during the period 1989-1992 are shown in the following tables. They provide separate figures for warrants covering telecommunications (which exclude letters), warrants covering letters (letters were relatively more important as a mode of communication than they would be today), and a total for both categories of these warrants.
	
		
			 Warrants (a) in force on 31 December 1988 and (b) issued during the course of 1988 
			  Telecommunications Letters Total 
			  (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) 
			 Warrants 225 412 75 48 300 460 
		
	
	
		
			 Warrants (a) in force on 31 December 1989 and (b) issued during the course of 1989 
			  Telecommunications Letters Total 
			  (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) 
			 Warrants 232 427 59 31 291 485 
		
	
	
		
			 Warrants (a) in force on 31 December 1990 and (b) issued during the course of 1990 
			  Telecommunications Letters Total 
			  (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) 
			 Warrants 225 473 52 42 227 515 
		
	
	
		
			 Warrants (a) in force on 31 December 1991 and b) issued during the course of 1991 
			  Telecommunications Letters Total 
			  (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) 
			 Warrants 239 670 50 62 289 732 
		
	
	
		
			 Warrants (a) in force on 31 December 1992 and (b) issued during the course of 1992 
			  Telecommunications Letters Total 
			  (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) 
			 Warrants 265 756 72 118 337 847

Travel Restrictions: Uganda

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will implement travel bans against those who have been actively promoting the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act 2014.

James Brokenshire: The Secretary of State has a non-statutory power to exclude from the UK any foreign national whose presence is considered not conducive to the public good. The power to exclude is broad but is normally used in circumstances involving national security, 'unacceptable behaviour' (extremism), international relations and foreign policy and serious organised crime.
	Where the Government identifies or is made aware of any individual who may have crossed the threshold for exclusion, we will consider carefully the evidence in the case before the Secretary of State decides whether or not to take action.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has issued any authorisations under section 42(3) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which permit intrusive surveillance by unmanned aircraft systems in the UK. [R]

James Brokenshire: As a matter of long-standing practice we do not comment on the operational use of covert surveillance, or provide a breakdown of the number of warrants signed by particular Secretaries of State, or in relation to specific circumstances or methods of surveillance.
	Existing regulation relating to surveillance includes the surveillance camera code of practice issued under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which provides a framework of good practice for surveillance camera operators and sets out obligations arising from other legislation including those for the processing of personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998 and a public authority's duty to adhere to the Human Rights Act 1998. Any covert surveillance undertaken by a public authority which is likely to obtain private information would be subject to authorisation under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has issued any exemptions pursuant to section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 which apply to data obtained via unmanned aircraft systems in the UK. [R]

James Brokenshire: It has been the position of successive Governments to not comment on national security issues.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 19 March 2014, Official Report, column 607W, on unmanned air vehicles, whether any person, agent or public body has provided video imagery or other data to her Department obtained by unmanned aircraft systems in the UK; and for what purposes. [R]

James Brokenshire: I am advised that no imagery or other data from such sources is held by the Department.

TREASURY

Flood Control

Maria Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, column 595W, on flood control, what the extra sum allocated in Budget 2014 is for each of the devolved administrations for flood defence in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Danny Alexander: The following table sets out the extra funding allocated to the devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula which reflected new funding provided to UK Government Departments for flood defence measures at Budget 2014.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Scotland Wales Northern Ireland 
			  2014-15 2015-16 2014-15 2015-16 2014-15 2015-16 
			 Flood maintenance (Resource) 2.0 3.5 1.2 2.0 0.7 1.2 
			 Flood maintenance (Capital) 6.0 2.5 3.5 1.4 2.0 0.8

Helius Energy

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider awarding a loan guarantee under the UK Guarantee Scheme to investors in Helius Energy's proposed biomass energy project in Avonmouth due to concerns surrounding the sustainability of biofuels.

Danny Alexander: The Helius Energy—Avonmouth biomass power generation project has prequalified under the UK Guarantees Scheme and is still subject to the necessary due diligence, commercial negotiation and financial restructuring before any offer of a guarantee is made.

Individual Savings Accounts

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 12W, on individual savings accounts and with reference to HM Revenue and Custom's policy paper published on the new ISA and changes to Junior ISA and the Child Trust Fund, what assessment he has made of the consequences for (a) the economy, (b) capital markets and (c) business of a shift in savings portfolio composition away from securities towards cash.

David Gauke: From 1 July 2014 the overall annual New ISA subscription limit will be increased to £15,000 and can be used for either cash or stocks and shares investments, or any combination of the two, up to this limit. At the same time the annual Junior ISA and Child Trust Fund subscription limits will be increased to £4,000.
	These measures were part of a wider Budget package aimed at supporting savers. These ISA measures will reduce income tax on savings for people constrained by the current limits, improving incentives to save and increasing real household disposable incomes. Over 6 million people each year are expected to benefit from these increases, including over 5 million adults currently constrained by the cash ISA limit, three-quarters of whom are basic rate taxpayers and a third are pensioners.
	As HMRC's published Tax Information and Impact Note explains, the increase to real household disposable incomes resulting from the New ISA changes might feed through to higher consumption or savings in the household sector. There may also be a shift in the savings portfolio composition towards cash deposits. At the same time there may be an overall increase in savings invested in securities.
	Stocks and shares, and cash offer very different risk and expected return profiles, and the tax treatment will be just one factor affecting investors' choice between them. In 2012-13, the FTSE All-Share Index grew by 5.6% (excluding dividend yield). In contrast bank and building society deposit returns averaged 1.95%.
	For individuals who prefer to hold their savings portfolio in stocks and shares rather than cash, the New ISA will provide a significant increase to the amount that can be invested and held within the tax-advantaged ISA wrapper for 2014-15, from £11,880 to £15,000.

Individual Savings Accounts

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people made the maximum allowed contribution to an ISA in each of the last three years; and how many he estimates will do so in each of the next three years as a result of changes announced in the 2014 Budget.

David Gauke: In 2010-11, around 1.2 million individuals made full use of their (£10,200) ISA allowance. Figures for more recent years are not yet available.
	As announced at Budget 2014, from 1 July 2014 the overall annual New ISA subscription limit will be increased to £15,000 and can be used for either cash or stocks and shares investments, or any combination of the two, up to this limit. Over 6 million people are expected to benefit from these increases, including over 5 million adults currently making full use of the cash ISA limit.
	Estimates of the numbers of individuals expected to save at the new limit in each of the next three years are not available.

National Insurance Contributions

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  to how many businesses the letter from the Prime Minister about the employment allowance was sent; what criteria were used to select those businesses; and how the addresses and other details of the businesses to which the letter was sent were obtained;
	(2)  what the total cost to the public purse was of the letter sent to businesses by the Prime Minister on the employment allowance.

Jack Straw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many copies of the Prime Minister's recent letter concerning new tax cuts for businesses and charities were printed; what the total cost was of printing, distribution and postage in respect of these letters; and from which Vote this expenditure will be taken;
	(2)  whether, on previous occasions, the Chancellor of the day has written to taxpayers about new tax cuts; at what cost; and if he will place copies of such correspondence in the Library.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  where the Prime Minister's Office obtained contact details of the businesses and charities to which he sent a letter about changes to national insurance contributions which took effect from 6 April 2014;
	(2)  whether the Prime Minister's Office used private companies to distribute to businesses and charities the letter he signed about changes to national insurance contributions which took effect from 6 April 2014;
	(3)  what the cost was of sending businesses and charities the letter the Prime Minister signed about changes to national insurance contributions which took effect from 6 April 2014.

David Gauke: The employment allowance was introduced to promote both growth and employment, particularly among small businesses, and its success is heavily dependent on ensuring that businesses know whether they are eligible, which they can check by visiting
	https://www.gov.uk/employment-allowance
	It is estimated to benefit UK employers by approximately £1.25 billion for employers in 2014-15.
	The Prime Minister's letter was distributed by HMRC and its contractors and targeted c1.7 million current and potential employers most likely to benefit from the allowance.
	It cost approximately £430,000 including the cost of postage, which equates to 25 pence per letter and its distribution is consistent with the Government's wider awareness raising campaign ensuring that employers are aware of the allowance and check their eligibility.

Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish an impact assessment of planned changes to pensions from 2015 as announced in the 2014 Budget.

David Gauke: The expected Exchequer impacts over the forecast period of the changes made to private pensions taxation as announced at Budget 2014 were included in the Taxes Information and Impact Note “Increasing Pension Flexibility” published on 19 March 2014 and can be found in Table 2.1 (p.56) of the Red Book.
	The Treasury announced in paragraph 1.13 of “Freedom of Choice in Pensions” that
	“it intends to publish draft legislation for a short technical consultation prior to the introduction of the legislation that will enact the changes from April 2015”.
	A consultation impact assessment will be published alongside this draft legislation.

Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what comparative analysis he has carried out of the effects of the changes to pensions set out in the 2014 Budget on men and women.

David Gauke: At Budget 2014 the Chancellor announced changes which increase the flexibility of pensions, some of which took effect on 27 March 2014.
	The increases to the small pot and trivial commutation limits are believed to benefit women proportionately more than men, as they are more likely to have smaller pension wealth. Reducing the minimum income requirement for flexible drawdown is also expected to have a disproportionate impact on women, as they are less likely to have a large pension pot than men.
	HMRC’s Tax Information and Impact Note presents further information on the estimated impacts of the 2014 changes:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293844/TIIN_8070_8062_8202_ 8132_8133_increasing_pension_flexibility.pdf
	The proposed 2015 changes will enable individuals to access their defined contribution pension savings as they wish at the point of retirement, subject to their marginal rate of income tax (rather than the current 55% charge for full withdrawal). The changes the Government proposes will entitle everyone to full flexibility regardless of their gender.

Personal Income

David Ruffley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of individual taxpayers in each £1,000 band of gross income between £40,000 and £70,000.

David Gauke: The estimates requested are in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of taxpayers 
			 Thousand 
			   Projections from 2011-12 data 
			 Total Income in £1,000 bands(lower bound £) 2011-121 2013-142 2014-152 
			 40,000 282 277 303 
			 41,000 269 278 267 
			 42,000 304 258 267 
			 43,000 219 256 257 
			 44,000 212 255 238 
			 45,000 197 264 229 
			 46,000 176 212 229 
			 47,000 157 193 247 
			 48,000 147 172 224 
			 49,000 136 157 183 
			 50,000 124 146 161 
			 51,000 114 134 149 
			 52,000 110 124 137 
			 53,000 105 113 128 
			 54,000 95 108 117 
			 55,000 90 105 108 
			 56,000 86 95 106 
			 57,000 79 89 97 
			 58,000 72 80 94 
			 59,000 69 80 83 
			 60,000 67 74 72 
			 61,000 60 68 76 
			 62,000 62 62 70 
			 63,000 57 65 68 
			 64,000 50 60 61 
			 65,000 49 59 64 
			 66,000 46 53 58 
			 67,000 45 49 57 
			 68,000 40 50 52 
			 69,000 39 44 47 
			 1 These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2011-12 which is the latest year for which outturn data are available. 2 These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2011-12 projected forward using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s December 2013 economic and fiscal outlook.

Revenue and Customs

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how long discussions have been ongoing between HM Revenue and Customs, Network Rail and others on the development of new parking facilities at the Customs House site adjacent to Dover Priory railway station.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs does not own the freehold interest in the Custom House site (also known as Priory Court) adjacent to Dover Priory railway station. HMRC occupies the site with the STEPS PFI agreement. While HMRC has been aware of approaches to the freeholder Mapeley for some time, formal discussions have commenced only recently in February 2014.

Revenue and Customs

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Revenue and Customs supports in principle the sale of part of the Custom House site adjacent to Dover Priory Railway Station for the development of new parking facilities.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs does not own the freehold interest of the Custom House site (also known as Priory Court) adjacent to Dover Priory railway station. HMRC occupies the site as part of the STEPS PFI agreement and will consider any proposals from the freeholder Mapeley that affect our rights of occupation.

River Thames: Bridges

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which parties have received the £30 million for the Garden Bridge announced in the National Infrastructure Plan.

Danny Alexander: The £30 million contribution to the Garden Bridge from Government is conditional on a business case being produced that demonstrates the project represents good value for money. The business case is expected to be complete by mid-2014.
	Should the business case demonstrate that the project represents good value for money, Government will agree the detailed terms of funding with the Garden Bridge Trust.

River Thames: Bridges

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Department has responsibility for calculating the estimated cost of the Garden Bridge announced in paragraph 3.45 of the National Infrastructure Plan 2013.

Danny Alexander: The Garden Bridge Trust has been established to take responsibility for this project. This includes the responsibility to produce a reliable cost estimate.
	Government have asked for a business case to be produced for the project in line with standard guidance. This will need to demonstrate that Government’s support represents good value for money before a contribution to the construction cost is made.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Baltic States

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the UK has offered through NATO to its Baltic allies since the Russian military incursion into Crimea.

William Hague: The UK, alongside our NATO allies, remains committed to the preservation of stability and security in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia and to the guarantee of collective defence under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
	The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), announced on 17 March the UK has offered to contribute four Typhoons to the Baltic Air Policing mission. NATO Foreign Ministers agreed on 1 April to consider further measures as necessary to fulfil NATO’s collective defence mission.

Burma

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response his Department has made to the expulsion of Médicins Sans Frontières from Rakhine state by the Burmese Government.

Hugo Swire: On hearing of the expulsion of Médicins San Frontières (MSF) on 26 February, the British embassy registered our concerns with the Burmese Government that same evening. Since then we have been liaising very closely with MSF tailoring our lobbying to their support, as they negotiate with the Burmese authorities. The British ambassador visited the MSF clinic in Sittwe during his visit to Rakhine State from 19-20 March to hear first hand the impact this decision has had on the local community.
	I summoned the Burmese ambassador to London on 7 April to make clear our grave concerns about the situation in Rakhine State, including the expulsion of Médicins San Frontières. I called on the Burmese Government to urgently restore humanitarian access to all communities in need and to ensure the security of humanitarian aid workers and all communities in Rakhine State so that they can operate free of constraint and intimidation. We continue to make clear to the Burmese authorities that there must be no deterioration in the provision of health services in Rakhine State, which is already on the brink of crisis.

Central African Republic

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what level of engagement, support or resource the Government is contributing to the expected EU mission in the Central African Republic.

William Hague: I welcome the launch of the EU’s Central African Republic (CAR) military operation, EUFOR, on 2 April 2014. EUFOR will help the International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) and French (Sangaris) forces to provide security in Bangui until a handover to MISCA or a possible UN Peacekeeping Operation can take place.
	I encouraged the quick deployment of the mission when I attended the Mini-summit on CAR on 2 April in the margins of the EU-Africa summit. The UK will pay its share of the common costs for EUFOR, and has played a strong role in planning, including through provision of a military officer to EUFOR’s operational headquarters in Larissa. Discussions are currently under way about the possibility of providing strategic airlift assistance with countries that have contributed troops.

Diplomatic Service

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) male and (b) female (i) HM Ambassadors and (ii) High Commissioners there are from each region of the UK.

Hugh Robertson: We are unable to breakdown the region that each and every one of our ambassadors and high commissioners was born in without incurring disproportionate costs. We are able to breakdown by the constituent country within the UK as follows:
	
		
			  Male Female 
			 England 80 22 
			 Scotland 5 1 
			 Wales 3 0 
			 Northern Ireland 1 0 
			 Born outside the UK or not recorded on file 29 7 
		
	
	There is also one post where the ambassador's role is shared by one male and one female, both from England.
	The key principle of all FCO appointments is selection by merit through fair and open competition. Place of birth has no effect on our appointments system. All UK based members of staff have to be British citizens.

Egypt

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government’s latest assessment is of the security situation in Egypt following the recent suicide bombing outside Cairo university grounds.

William Hague: Our assessment, as published in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice, is that there is a high threat from terrorism in Egypt, including Cairo. We believe that terrorists continue to plan attacks, which could be indiscriminate and occur without prior warning. Attacks have mainly been aimed at the security forces, their facilities and other government buildings. However, attacks targeting foreigners cannot be ruled out. We continue to keep our travel advice under constant review.
	During my meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy on 2 April, I condemned the recent attacks in Cairo and sent condolences to the family of the victim and those who have been injured.

Egypt

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of his meeting with his Egyptian counterpart on 2 April 2014; and when the next meeting is planned.

Hugh Robertson: During the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)’s meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy on 2 April, he discussed the political situation in Egypt, including the presidential elections scheduled for 26-27 May. The Secretary of State raised his strong concern over the death sentence imposed on 529 people on 24 March and the case of two British journalists who have been charged in Egypt and are currently being tried in absentia. He asked the Egyptian Government to review these issues as a matter of urgency and to ensure that the individuals’ human and legal rights are properly upheld.
	The Secretary of State condemned the terrorist attacks of 2 April in Cairo and sent his condolences to the family of the victim and those who had been injured. He reiterated the importance of co-operation against the shared threat from terrorism. He also raised the UK’s concerns regarding the security situation in the South Sinai region. He urged the Egyptian Government to do all it could to protect British nationals in Egypt, including those visiting the Red Sea resorts over the holiday season, and to take further measures against the risk of terrorism.
	The two Ministers also discussed recent events in the middle east, including the crisis in Syria and the importance of progress on the middle east peace process.
	There has been no date set for their next meeting.

European Union

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his German counterpart on reform of the EU.

David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed EU reform with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on 3 February 2014 in London. They discussed the need to make the EU more competitive, flexible and democratically accountable, as well as the importance of the EU becoming more effective and more focused on economic development, in order to deliver the jobs and growth EU citizens want and need.
	On 27 March 2014, I chaired a meeting of the European Affairs Sub-Committee with the German Committee of State Secretaries for European Affairs during which I and other Ministers discussed aspects of EU reform with our German counterparts.

GCHQ

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to promote the commercialisation of scientific and technical research undertaken by GCHQ.

Hugh Robertson: GCHQ works closely with business to release Intellectual Properties (IP) which are suitable for more general use in the outside world. For example through its information assurance arm, Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG), it operates a number of schemes which enable individuals and companies to gain CESG endorsement of products and services via technical assessment.
	GCHQ is additionally running a number of pilot cases looking at ways of improving its coordination with SMEs and larger industry partners including on Open Source publishing and licensing to SMEs and larger industry partners. GCHQ is also sponsoring research institutes in Cyber Security and running innovation calls aimed at SMEs. The latter initiative in partnership with organisations such as the Centre for Defence Enterprise and the technology Strategy Board.

Gender

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the gender balance is of his Department’s management board and its sub-committees.

Hugh Robertson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) management board consists of eight executive (five male and three female) and two non-executive members (one male and one female).
	The management board is supported by the four sub-committees which are each chaired by a member of the board; they are Audit and Risk Committee, Human Resources (HR) Committee, Operations Committee and Health and Safety Committee.
	The gender breakdown of the committees is as follows:
	Audit and Risk Committee (ARC): two male, one female;
	HR Committee: nine male, 10 female; and the 20th position is currently filled by two people (one male, one female) in a job share;
	Operations Committee: nine male and eight female; and
	FCO Health and Safety Committee: 18 male and eight female members.

Gibraltar

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a Minister of his Department last visited Gibraltar.

William Hague: The Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), was the last Minister from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to visit Gibraltar, in April 2011. My right hon. Friend hopes to visit again this year.
	The Minister for the Armed Forces, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), visited in December 2013.

Gibraltar

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times he has visited Gibraltar in an official capacity since taking up his present office.

William Hague: I have not yet had the opportunity to visit Gibraltar since taking up office. The Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), visited in April 2011.

Gibraltar

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions he has met the First Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, since Mr Picardo became First Minister.

William Hague: I have met Mr Fabian Picardo three times since December 2011. I had discussions with him in the margins of the reception for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee on 5 June 2012 and during the Conservative Party Conference in October 2012. We also had a substantive meeting in London on 28 August 2013. In addition to those meetings, the Chief Minister and I have spoken on a number of occasions by telephone about various policy issues concerning Gibraltar.

Gibraltar: Spain

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the government of Spain on the proposed twinning of the town of Algeciras in Spain with Rio Grande in Argentina.

William Hague: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not made representations to Spain about the proposed twinning of Algeciras in Spain, and Rio Grande in Argentina. Any twinning arrangement between Algeciras and Rio Grande is a matter for the local authorities of those cities.

Gibraltar: Spain

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings the Minister for Europe has held with the European Commission to discuss incursions by Spanish government vessels into British-Gibraltar territorial waters in the last two years.

William Hague: We are confident of UK sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) under international law, a matter over which the European Commission has no locus to intervene. As a result the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), has not had any meetings with them in the last two years where the sole purpose was discussing Spanish incursions into BGTW.
	However, my right hon. Friend has raised on a number of occasions, at a senior level in the European Commission, the adoption by the European Commission of a proposal from the Spanish Government to designate a site of community importance (SCI) under the EU habitats directive (92/43/EEC). The SCI in question overlaps virtually the whole BGTW area. Spain has used this fact to justify certain incursions on the grounds that they are enacting obligations in relation to EU environmental legislation.
	The British Government maintains that the purported site known as the Estrecho Oriental was unlawfully designated and, in any event, cannot have any legal effect in BGTW due to UK sovereignty over this territory. We have made our position on this clear to the European Commission and the Spanish Government.

Gibraltar: Spain

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings the Minister of State for Europe has held with the European Commission with the sole purpose of discussing incursions by Spanish government vessels into British Gibraltar territorial waters.

William Hague: We are confident of UK sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) under international law, a matter over which the European Commission has no locus to intervene. As a result the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), has not had any meetings with the EC in the last two years where the sole purpose was discussing Spanish incursions into BGTW.
	However, my right hon. Friend has raised on a number of occasions, at a senior level in the European Commission, the adoption by the European Commission of a proposal from the Spanish Government to designate a site of community importance (SCI) under the EU habitats directive (92/43/EEC). The SCI in question overlaps virtually the whole BGTW area. Spain has used this fact to justify certain incursions on the grounds that they are enacting obligations in relation to EU environmental legislation.
	The British Government maintains that the purported site known as the Estrecho Oriental was unlawfully designated and, in any event, cannot have any legal effect in BGTW due to UK sovereignty over this territory. We have made our position on this clear to the European Commission and the Spanish Government.

Gibraltar: Spain

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many naval incursions there have been into British Gibraltar territorial waters by Spanish government vessels in each month since June 2010.

William Hague: The numbers of unlawful incursions by Spanish government vessels are as follows:
	
		
			 Month Number of unlawful incursions 
			 June 2010 18 
			 July 2010 3 
			 August 2010 2 
			 September 2010 7 
			 October 2010 7 
			 November 2010 2 
			 December 2010 0 
			 January 2011 1 
			 February 2011 4 
			 March 2011 2 
			 April 2011 5 
			 May 2011 3 
			 June 2011 5 
			 July 2011 0 
			 August 2011 1 
			 September 2011 0 
			 October 2011 0 
			 November 2011 2 
			 December 2011 1 
			 January 2012 2 
			 February 2012 5 
			 March 2012 0 
			 April 2012 2 
			 May 2012 23 
			 June 2012 19 
			 July 2012 40 
			 August 2012 34 
			 September 2012 29 
			 October 2012 22 
			 November 2012 31 
			 December 2012 22 
			 January 2013 29 
			 February 2013 35 
			 March 2013 23 
			 April 2013 36 
			 May 2013 50 
			 June 2013 50 
			 July 2013 46 
			 August 2013 68 
			 September 2013 35 
			 October 2013 61 
			 November 2013 54 
			 December 2013 9 
			 January 2013 7 
			 February 2014 58 
			 March 2014 37

India

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Government Minister took the decision that there were no grounds for a futher inquiry into the events in Amritsar in 1984.

William Hague: The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, was asked by the Prime Minister to lead a review to establish the facts relating to the UK's involvement in Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple. The report was submitted to the Prime Minister and as I told Parliament in my statement to the House on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 139-42, it clearly showed the limited nature of UK advice on Operation Blue Star, and that there were no grounds for a further inquiry.

India

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Cabinet Secretary was tasked with assessing whether there were grounds for a further inquiry into the events surrounding the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

William Hague: The Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood's investigation looked at why the UK provided advice to the Indian authorities, the nature of the UK assistance and the impact of that assistance in Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple. As I told Parliament in my statement to the House on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 139-142, the report and the documents we published clearly show the limited nature of UK advice on Operation Blue Star, and that there were no grounds for a further inquiry.

Iran

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to his Iranian counterpart for the release of Shahrokh Zamani.

Hugh Robertson: We remain deeply concerned about the detention and treatment of labour activist Shahrokh Zamani. Unions and labour organisations have been heavily repressed in Iran, and many members have been arrested, jailed or harassed. We have called on Iran to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of expression to all Iranians.

North Korea

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of persecution of Christians in North Korea; what steps he is taking within the international community to address that issue; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: I made clear in my response to oral questions on 8 April 2014, Official Report, column 109, that the UN Commission of Inquiry’s report documents a persecution of Christians which is truly shocking. The UK played a leading role in ensuring a strong Human Rights Council resolution in response to this report. My written ministerial statement on 31 March 2014, Official Report, columns 66-67WS, sets out a summary of the concrete measures in the DPRK resolution to ensure the work of the COI continues in order that those responsible for human right violations and crimes against humanity will one day be brought to account.

Pakistan

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he plans to make to the Government of Pakistan following the death sentence imposed on Sawan Masih as a result of an alleged offence of blasphemy; and whether he plans to raise that matter at a Commonwealth level.

Hugh Robertson: I am concerned to hear about the case of Sawan Masih and the imposition of the death penalty. We regularly raise the issue of blasphemy laws, and their misuse against both Muslims and religious minorities at the highest levels in Pakistan. During last week's adjournment debate on the blasphemy law the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) assured this House that
	“we must continue to pursue this issue”
	with the Pakistani authorities. We encourage interfaith dialogue and support those in Pakistan who are working for reform of blasphemy laws. We have also consistently pressed the Government of Pakistan on the issue of the death penalty and our principled opposition to it in all cases. We consistently strive to foster debate on the death penalty within the Commonwealth and hope that these issues will be discussed by Commonwealth Law Ministers at their meeting in Botswana in May.

Sri Lanka

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further steps his Department is taking to ensure that the international investigation into the human rights situation in Sri Lanka is carried out transparently, robustly and swiftly.

William Hague: On 27 March, the UN Human Rights Council passed a renewed resolution on Sri Lanka which establishes an international investigation into allegations of violations of international law on both sides of Sri Lanka's military conflict, and calls upon the Sri Lankan Government to make progress on human rights and reconciliation.
	The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will now begin the process of establishing an investigation and assessing the evidence. It is expected that the investigation will draw on expertise from a range of fields and examine a broad range of information and evidence. The high commissioner will provide an oral update to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) this September, and will provide a comprehensive report to the UNHRC in March 2015.
	The British Government fully supports the Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. We will continue to work with them and international partners, and continue to encourage the Sri Lankan Government to ensure proper implementation of the resolution.

Sri Lanka

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions Ministers in his Department have met President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka since May 2010.

William Hague: The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), and I met President Rajapaksa at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka in November 2013.

Sri Lanka

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Minister of State, the hon. Member for East Devon, will next travel to Sri Lanka.

William Hague: There are no current plans for the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), to visit Sri Lanka. We continue to engage regularly with the Sri Lankan Government at ministerial and official level on a wide range of issues.

Sri Lanka

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has asked President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka to resign as Chairperson in Office of the Commonwealth in the light of the decision to investigate potential human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

William Hague: Any decision on the Chair-in-Office role is for all Commonwealth Heads of Government to take by consensus.

Syria

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government’s most recent assessment is of the likelihood of President Assad complying with the agreed Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons timetable for the removal and destruction of Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons.

William Hague: Good early progress was made toward putting both Syria’s chemical weapons manufacturing facilities and the weapons themselves beyond use. However, the programme has fallen behind schedule and the regime has missed a number of interim deadlines, including the 31 December target for the removal of priority I chemicals, and the 5 February deadline for the removal of priority II material. It is the regime’s responsibility to comply with the timetable set out by the UN-Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
	The UN Secretary-General, the OPCW Director-General and the co-ordinator of the OPCW-UN joint mission have assessed that Syria has all the equipment it needs to ensure the expeditious removal of the chemicals concerned. To date, approximately 54% of the declared chemical stockpile has been removed from Syria. The regime must significantly accelerate the movement of the chemicals to port to enable their removal if the 30 June deadline for the elimination of the chemicals is to be achieved.

Syria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what specific steps the UK has taken to encourage more opposition groups to join the Syrian National Coalition.

Hugh Robertson: We have publicly and repeatedly urged moderate Syrian opposition groups, inside and outside Syria, to join the National Coalition, underlining the importance of a unified, and effective organisation pressing for a democratic and pluralist Syria. We have consistently encouraged the National Coalition to broaden their membership, and they have made strenuous efforts to attract all sections of Syrian society, including ethnic and religious minorities, and women. They have made clear that they stand for all Syrians. We have worked through the London 11 group in support of the National Coalition, as well as providing practical support to develop its capacity.

Syria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the Syrian National Coalition.

Hugh Robertson: We have daily discussions with the Syrian National Coalition, most notably with its leadership through the UK Special Representative to Syria, Jon Wilks, but also at ministerial level. We are in regular touch with the National Coalition representative in London. We have supported the National Coalition since its foundation in 2012 and have consistently encouraged it to reach out to all Syrians as a democratic, inclusive and unified organisation. This has included practical support to the National Coalition, including on strategic communications and design of internal structures and organisation. The UK is a leading member of the “London 11”, the core group of the Friends of Syria, who are the National Coalition's strongest supporters. Most recently we hosted a meeting of senior officials from the London 11 in London on 7 March.

Syria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of how representative the Syrian National Council is of all Syrian opposition groups.

Hugh Robertson: The Syrian National Council is one part of the National Coalition. I have called for women, in particular, to be represented more in the National Coalition. I am pleased that the National Coalition has made strenuous efforts to broaden its membership to attract all sections of Syrian society, including ethnic and religious minorities and women, stating that it is a Coalition for all Syrians. The most recent organisation to join its ranks is the Kurdish National Council. We continue to work with the National Coalition in their efforts to deliver more services on the ground through the Interim Government.

Ukraine

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the UK Government plans to provide through the EU in advance of presidential elections in Ukraine in May 2014.

William Hague: The UK will be sending 90 short term observers, in addition to the 10 long term observers already in Ukraine, to join the observer mission being mounted by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). This will allow for an objective assessment as to whether the required standards are met. We also welcome the announcement by the OSCE/ODIHR that they will be providing advice and training on running elections.

Ukraine

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to increase the UK's bilateral financial support for Ukraine in the next six months.

William Hague: The UK has pledged £10 million in assistance to Ukraine from the Department for International Development bilateral programme. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), will keep this allocation under review. The UK also provides support to Ukraine through our core contributions to the EU, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the UN.

Venezuela

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to his Venezuelan counterpart on exercising restraint in response to protests in that country.

William Hague: I am concerned by reports of excessive use of force in protests, and reports of armed groups using violence. I condemn all acts of violence and call on all sides to show restraint. It is important that the Venezuelan Government respects the right to protest peacefully and ensures public security. The Government has called for all sides to take steps to avoid confrontation, reduce tensions and to create the right conditions for genuine dialogue to take place.
	The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), has written to the Venezuelan Government emphasising the importance of respecting peaceful protest and the importance of dialogue to take place between the parties. He has offered the UK’s assistance in the reconciliation process and asked to speak to his Venezuelan opposite number. The British embassy in Caracas urges peaceful dialogue through its contacts with a range of actors in Venezuelan society.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Caribbean

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her future plans are for support to the Caribbean.

Alan Duncan: The UK is strongly committed to supporting development in the Caribbean. Helping the region tackle the risks posed by natural disasters is one of our top priorities, alongside supporting sustainable economic growth and addressing governance and security.
	The UK Government has increased its bilateral support to the Independent Caribbean by 50% (around £75 million in 2011 to 2015). We also make significant contributions though multilateral partners, for example providing 15% of the EU’s €1.4 billion support and 19 per cent of the Caribbean Development Bank’s Special Development Fund. Our funding runs until March 2015. We are currently reviewing our approach in the Independent Caribbean to ensure that the UK’s support responds to the countries’ needs and delivers the greatest positive impact in the next phase of support from 2015-16 onwards.
	In addition, the UK provides assistance to the Overseas Territory of Montserrat by financing public services and investing in infrastructure. We are making these investments to facilitate economic growth and reduce long-term dependence on aid.

Developing Countries: Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Foyle, of 10 March 2014, Official Report, column 42W, on developing countries: abortion, for what reasons data on spend for individual components of sexual and reproductive health and rights policy are not compiled; and if she will estimate the cost of compiling that data.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID adheres to Development Co-Operation Directorate (OACD-DAC) expenditure coding requirements to allow comparison across donor spending towards attainment of the millennium development goal targets. This does not include the facility to calculate spend for individual components such as sexual and reproductive health and rights—only against coding titles as have been internationally agreed.
	Only coding titles as have been internationally agreed can be individually disaggregated.

Developing Countries: Family Planning

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make it her policy that UK public funds should not be used for the purposes of campaigning for more liberal abortion laws in another country.

Lynne Featherstone: In many countries abortion may be permitted only on limited or highly restricted grounds. In these circumstances, we can consider support to increase awareness among policy-makers, legislators, national health authorities and health personnel of the circumstances under which abortion is allowed. We can also work to highlight the consequences arising from the complications of unsafe abortion, such as the burden of maternal ill-health and high health service costs.
	In addition we can also consider support to locally-led efforts to enable legal and policy reform in circumstances where the existing law and policy are contributing to high maternal mortality and morbidity; and to regional or international initiatives that are working to prevent unsafe abortion.

Developing Countries: Females

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to Stepping up a gear for girls and women: updates to the Department for International Development's Strategic Vision for Girls and Women, what steps she is taking to promote girls and women as leaders in politics, peace processes, business and public life, and as active citizens with a voice in society; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: Increasing women and girls participation in politics, peace processes, business and public life, and as active citizens with a voice is central to achieving DFID’s Strategic Vision for Girls and Women and is crucial if we are to achieve gender equality. DFID works through a range of programmes to address the long term structural barriers to women’s political empowerment. For example, DFID is working with the BBC’s World Service Trust in 14 countries to enhance political accountability through the media. Women’s active and meaningful participation in all peace processes, as well as their representation in formal and informal decision making at all levels, is vital to international peace and security.

Development Aid

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the role of early stage co-investment funds in assisting the achievement of development goals;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to work with CDC in delivering early stage investment funds in developing countries to better achieve development goals.

Lynne Featherstone: Investment funds that invest in early-stage businesses can provide risk capital, create jobs and provide access to services such as healthcare, energy, housing, education and sanitation. In December 2012 the Secretary of State for International Development, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), announced the DFID Impact Fund, which is managed by CDC. Through the DFID Impact Fund CDC is investing up to £75 million of DFID’s capital into Funds on a matched basis with other co-investors.

Nigeria

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to increase the role of the UK further education sector in strengthening vocational education in Nigeria;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to strengthen vocational education in Nigeria.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID recognises the importance of vocational skills training for reducing poverty among young people in Nigeria, and is currently considering options on how best to support the sector to increase the economic opportunities available to marginalised groups of young men and women in six of the poorest states in Northern Nigeria.

Nigeria

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent meetings she has had with representatives of the Nigerian diaspora in the UK on support for entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

Lynne Featherstone: I have not, as yet, had the pleasure of meeting representatives of the Nigerian diaspora in UK. My Department, however, is actively involved in helping improve the investment climate for entrepreneurs in Nigeria, including for Nigerians living abroad. An example of this was our recent support for a review of Nigeria's Investment Policy which was presented at President Goodluck Jonathan's Honorary International Investors' Council held in London last November and which was co-chaired by Baroness Chalker.

Nigeria

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will take steps to establish an early stage co-investment fund in Nigeria.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID supports a number of initiatives that help private sector development in Nigeria. These include work alongside CDC to fund investment opportunities in Northern Nigeria; technical assistance to increase lending by Nigerian banks to small and medium enterprises, through the International Finance Corporation (IFC); and start up grants for Nigerian firms through the Business Innovation Facility.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when work will begin on the bioenergy strategy review; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: As set out in the UK Bioenergy Strategy:
	“it will be important to continue to monitor impacts and review policies and measures periodically in the light of information gained from monitoring policy impacts and the outputs of continuing research. .... We will review how the totality of UK bioenergy policies meets the direction and principles set out in this strategy in at least 5 year intervals.”
	We will set out our intentions closer to the time.

Consultants

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

Gregory Barker: The table details the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s consultancy expenditure in 2013-14:
	
		
			 2013-14 
			  £000 
			 KPMG LLP 2,340 
			 Lazard & Co. Ltd 1,940 
			 Deloitte LLP 855 
			 Baringa Partners LLP 238 
			 Mott Macdonald Group Ltd 91 
		
	
	
		
			 Redpoint Energy Ltd 91 
			 Poyry Management Consulting (UK) Ltd 61 
			 Oxera Consulting Ltd 60 
			 Cambridge Economic Policy Associates 55 
			 E S P Consulting 48

Employment Agencies

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.

Gregory Barker: The following table details the companies used and the total amounts paid to them in the last financial year. We are unable to identify separately the amounts retained by the companies as fees and the amounts passed on to the temporary worker by the company.
	
		
			 Agency 2013-14 (£000) 
			 Adecco UK Ltd 1,162 
			 Michael Page International Recruitment Ltd 533 
			 Methods Consulting Ltd 517 
			 Parity Resources Ltd 461 
			 Allen Lane Ltd 406

Energy Supply

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he has taken to secure the long-term provision of energy for the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: This Government published its Energy Security Strategy in November 2012 which sets out the range of policies in place to deliver energy security and meet demand up to 2050. The strategy sets out the Government's approach which is based on competitive markets combined with effective regulation to deliver diversity of supply and robust infrastructure for consumers. This is supported through measures in a number of areas which will enhance energy security further while also delivering wider energy goals.
	These measures include resilience measures to prevent possible disruptions ranging from flooding through to industrial action, and to reduce the impact of incidents if they do occur and energy efficiency measures to lower our exposure to domestic and international energy market risks. We also work to maximise economic production of our oil and gas reserves to provide reliable energy supplies which are not exposed to international energy supply risks as well as working to improve the reliability of global energy markets to help ensure that, where the UK does require the supply of energy from overseas, it is dependable and affordable. In addition, reliable networks ensure that the energy we need is delivered, where we need it. Lastly, decarbonising our energy supplies will help to reduce our dependence on international fossil fuel markets in the longer term.
	Further details are set out in the document which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65643/7101-energy-security-strategy.pdf

Energy: Prices

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the Supplemental Balancing Reserve on energy bills for the year (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Michael Fallon: The cost of procuring Supplemental Balancing Reserve and Demand Side Balancing Reserve is a matter for Ofgem and National Grid. In its draft impact assessment Ofgem estimated the cost of buying these services would be less than £1 a year for the average domestic customer. Ofgem's final impact assessment did not revise or update this estimate. DECC has not carried out a separate assessment.
	Ofgem's draft impact assessment can be found at:
	https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/84629/nationalgridsproposednewbalancingservices-draftimpactassessment.pdf
	A final impact assessment is available at:
	https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/85278/decisiontoacceptngetapplicationtointroducetwonewbalancingservices andsubsequentconsultationonfundingarrangements.pdf

Energy: Prices

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what forecast he has made of the impact of capacity contracted under the Supplemental Balancing Reserve to the Loss of Load Expectation in the winter of (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Michael Fallon: The Government has not made any forecast of the impact of capacity contracted under the Supplemental Balancing Reserve (SBR) on the Loss of Load Expectation for winter 2014-15 or 2015-16. SBR is one of National Grid's two new balancing services, approved by Ofgem in December 2013. SBR and the Demand Side Balancing Reserve (DSBR) will address potential capacity shortfalls in the middle of the decade. National Grid is currently developing a methodology to determine how much capacity should be contracted via SBR. Once this is approved by Ofgem, National Grid will proceed with the procurement process.

Energy: Prices

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that all customers receive the full benefit of reductions in levies on energy bills.

Michael Fallon: All households will benefit from our changes. While the reduction in individual household bills will depend on the energy supplier, this package, including VAT, will be worth an average of around £50 to households, compared to what would have happened without these changes. All customers on fixed tariffs will receive the £12 rebate from suppliers in autumn and the vast majority of them can either switch to a new tariff created since the autumn statement without any charge or will be switching to a new tariff anyway as a result of their fixed contract coming to an end this year.

Fracking

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received on the regulatory regime associated with fracking.

Michael Fallon: The Department has received a number of comments and has been made aware of recommendations by a variety of interested parties, including non-governmental organisations and members of the public, that are relevant to the UK’s shale gas regulatory regime. The UK has a strong regulatory system which provides a comprehensive and fit for purpose regime for exploratory activities, but we want continuously to improve it. The Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil (OUGO) works closely with regulators and others to ensure that regulation is also fit for purpose for production; and that it remains robust enough to safeguard public safety and protect the environment.
	The Department is presently conducting a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) on further onshore licensing. The SEA consultation closed on 28 March. Some of the responses to this consultation are relevant to the UK’s shale gas regulatory regime. All responses will be carefully considered before any decision is made on further licensing.

Green Deal Scheme

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of 27 March 2014, Official Report, columns 345-6W, on the Green Deal scheme, if he will take steps to enable Green Deal providers to access all the supporting data for Green Deal reports held by Landmark Information Group.

Gregory Barker: The supporting data for Green Deal Advice Reports held by Landmark Information Group contains sensitive personal data, such as how householders use energy. We do not think it appropriate for providers to have access to this data, given data protection considerations.
	We understand that providers would find the raw data useful to tailor Green Deal Advice Reports around the measures customers want installed. However, they have access to the Green Deal Improvement Package Tool—which would allow them to tailor the reports as necessary. This tool can be found at:
	https://www.gdsap.org.uk

Green Deal Scheme

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been disbursed to Ombudsman Services for work relating to the Green Deal in each month since January 2013; and how many complaints relating to the Green Deal have been processed by Ombudsman Services over the same period.

Gregory Barker: I can confirm that DECC pays the Ombudsman Service a fixed quarterly rate to provide Green Deal services, support to DECC and maintain systems, plus an additional fee for each investigation undertaken. The quarterly fixed rate payments work out at £3,333.00 per month.
	I would also like to point out that as part of the Government’s transparency initiative DECC publishes summary details of all payments made over £500, including payments to contractors. You can find this information using the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords=& publication_filter_option=transparency-data&topics%5B%5D= all&departments%5B%5D=department-of-energy-climate-change&direction=before&date=2013-03-01
	The Ombudsman Service has undertaken some casework but this has not resulted in formal complaints or investigations and there have been no investigation charges to the Department.

Housing

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has conducted on the accuracy of assumptions made in the National Housing Condition Survey that all stone properties built before 1920 are of solid wall construction.

Gregory Barker: DECC has not undertaken any research into the accuracy of the assumptions made in the English Housing Survey that all stone properties built before 1920 are of solid wall construction.

Offshore Industry

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had on the Natural Environment Research Council’s funding of a new innovation programme in oil and gas; if he will write to the Natural Environment Research Council on the measures it has taken to assess whether its funding of this programme is compatible with (a) the UK’s statutory domestic carbon reductions targets as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008 and (b) the UK’s international commitments as set out in the Copenhagen Accord and the Cancun and Camp David agreements; if he will place in the Library a copy of such correspondence; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: I have not had any recent discussions with the Natural Environment Research Council regarding a new innovation programme for oil and gas and so I do not intend to write on this matter. There is good co-operation between Government and NERC, and I would anticipate that their schemes will be aligned with the aims of my Department which include the development of the UK’s hydrocarbon resources.

Private Sector

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many jobs have been transferred from the public to the private sector as a result of privatisations or outsourcing by his Department since May 2010.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has not transferred any jobs to the private sector as a result of privatisation or outsourcing since May 2010.

Radioactive Fallout

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment has been made by (a) the RIMNET network and (b) other bodies of the possibility that the sand fallout across the British isles from the Sahara desert has been contaminated by long-lived radioactive fallout from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests conducted by France in the Algerian Sahara in the 1960s.

Michael Fallon: The Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET) is the UK Government’s radiation monitoring and nuclear emergency response system which is operated on a 24-hour a day, seven days a week basis by the Met Office, on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Data from RIMNET has been inspected and shows no evidence of increased levels of radioactivity across the UK.
	The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes a programme of far-field monitoring, away from nuclear sites, of radioactivity in air and rainwater. This programme involves constantly sampling air through filters in high volume air samplers. Filters are changed on a weekly basis and subsequently analysed. Past Saharan dust events have not caused any detectable increase in radioactivity on the filters. Results for the changed filters on 31 March and 7 April should be available in the next few days. The results will be published as consolidated data in the annual Radiation in Food and the Environment (RIFE) report which is published jointly by a number of UK and devolved agencies. Previous RIFE reports are available at:
	http://www.sepa.org.uk/radioactive_substances/publications/rife_reports.aspx

Winter Fuel Payments

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department has had with other government departments on extending the winter fuel payment to people on the higher rate of disability living allowance for care or mobility and the equivalent enhanced rate of the new personal independence payment; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: Winter fuel payments is a DWP policy.
	However, people with disabilities may be able to access the Warm Home Discount scheme and receive a rebate off their electricity bill. They may also be able to access the energy companies obligation through which they can get help with insulation and heating measures.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Betting Shops

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that betting shops are not placed in the same planning use class as cafes, banks and public houses.

Nicholas Boles: Yes.
	Betting shops are currently in the A2 ("financial and professional services") use class. The Budget announced that we will consult on introducing a wider 'retail' use class; I can confirm that this would not include betting shops or payday loan shops.
	Moreover, to increase access to retail banking and to encourage new entrants, we have already recently amended secondary legislation such that shops (A1) are now able to change to banks, building societies, credit unions and friendly societies, within the A2 use class. This does not cover betting shops or payday loan shops.

Enterprise Zones

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many jobs have been (a) created and (b) safeguarded at each enterprise zone to date; how many (i) jobs and (ii) firms are currently based at each enterprise zone; and how many businesses have begun occupying premises at each enterprise zone since it began operation;
	(2)  how many vacant premises are currently located at each enterprise zone.

Kris Hopkins: More than 7,600 jobs have been created and 260 new businesses attracted to the 24 enterprise zones over the period April 2012 to December 2013. However, I am unable to disclose zone-level information as the estimates that enterprise zones provide us with may be subject to local commercial sensitivities and disclosure may prejudice commercial negotiations. For this reason, it is for individual zones to determine whether they make this information available.

Fire Services: Retirement

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the mean retirement age of a firefighter was in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many firefighters in South Yorkshire retired before the age of 60 in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many firefighters in Rotherham retired before the age of 60 years in each of the last 10 years.

Brandon Lewis: The Department collects information on numbers of normal and early retirements only, it does not collect information on the specific age of these firefighters at retirement. To assist the hon. Member a table containing this information has been provided.
	
		
			 Wholetime and Retained Duty System firefighters, leavers from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, 2002-03 to 2012-13 
			  Compulsory/voluntary age retirements 
			 2002-03 30 
			 2003-04 26 
			 2004-05 43 
			 2005-06 35 
			 2006-07 19 
			 2007-08 29 
			 2008-09 64 
			 2009-10 43 
			 2010-11 27 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 18 
			 2012-13 30 
		
	
	The Department collects information on retirements at Fire and Rescue Authority level only.

Planning Permission

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the protections currently available under planning law for parcels of land which are subject to planning applications and which are close to National Parks.

Nicholas Boles: The Government made clear in the National Planning Policy Framework that national parks have the highest status of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty and that great weight should be placed on their conservation. In developing the planning guidance, which was published in March 2014 to support the framework, the Government took account of feedback raised during the ‘Beta' test phase. The guidance, which is a material consideration in planning decisions, explains that section 11 A(2) of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 requires authorities to ‘have regard' to the purpose of national parks ‘in exercising or performing any functions in relation to, or so as to affect, land’ in national parks. The guidance is clear that the duty is relevant in considering development proposals that are situated outside national parks, but which might have an impact on the setting of, and implementation of, the statutory purposes of these protected areas.
	Through the Localism Act, the Government has strengthened the role of local plans to shape where development should or should not go. This would allow councils to protect the countryside close to national parks.

Planning Permission

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in how many cases an Article 4 direction has resulted in the rejection of a planning application which has not subsequently been overturned by the Planning Inspectorate; and what assessment he has made of the typical circumstances of such cases.

Nicholas Boles: This information is not held centrally.

Social Rented Housing: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social housing units were built in Brighton, Kemptown constituency in the most recent five-year period for which figures are available.

Kris Hopkins: Statistics on house building completions by tenure in each local authority district are published in the Department's live tables 253 (annual) and 253a (quarterly), which are available at the following link:
	http://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building
	Taken together, the Private Registered Provider (housing association) and local authority tenures provide estimates of total social housing completions, but these figures understate total affordable supply. This is because the house building figures are categorised by the type of developer rather than the intended final tenure, leading to under recording of affordable housing, and a corresponding over recording of private enterprise figures.
	More comprehensive statistics on affordable housing completions funded by the Homes and Communities Agency since 2009-10 by local authority district are available at the following link:
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/housing-statistics
	These statistics include both newly built housing and acquisitions but exclude delivery of affordable housing not funded by Homes and Communities Agency programmes that are reported in local authority returns to the Department. A fuller picture of all affordable housing completions is published in the Department's live tables 1006, 1006a, 1007 and 1008, which are available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
	There is no data source that provides information on affordable homes delivery by parliamentary constituency.
	Over 170,000 new affordable homes have been delivered in England since April 2010 (to the end of September 2013). Our Affordable Homes Programme will lever in £19.5 billion of public and private investment over the current spending review period. Over 2015 to 2018, we will be investing a further £23 billion in public and private funding for affordable housing.

State Retirement Pensions

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the financial effect on local authorities when the single tier state pension is introduced in 2016-17 and local authorities no longer receive a national insurance rebate from the contracting out of pensions.

Brandon Lewis: The Government is currently in discussions with the Local Government Association on this matter.

Temporary Accommodation: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of London households in temporary accommodation were in (a) private sector leased properties, (b) hotels, (c) bed and breakfast, (d) local authority registered social landlord property and (e) other accommodation (i) at the most recent date for which figures are available and (ii) at 31 March 2010.

Kris Hopkins: holding answer 17 March 2014
	: To assist public scrutiny, I have placed in the Library of the House, a table which provides quarterly figures for the last 10 years.
	Over that period, the numbers of households in temporary accommodation in London in this Government is far lower than averaged under the last Administration. The peak of 63,800 households in December 2005 compares to 42,430 in December 2013.
	Councils have a responsibility to move homeless households into settled accommodation as quickly as possible and we made common sense changes to the law to enable them to use suitable private rented homes. The average stay in temporary accommodation in England has been reduced from 20 months at the beginning of 2010 to 14 months now, which means that people on average are spending far less time in such temporary accommodation.
	We have also seen a 42% reduction in the numbers of families with children in Bed and Breakfast for more than six weeks on this time last year across the country. The seven local authorities that my Department has funded to tackle families in Bed and Breakfast have made significant progress, achieving an overall reduction of 96% since the funding began.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings he has had with the Mayor of London on air quality.

Dan Rogerson: The Secretary of State meets the Mayor of London on a regular basis. They met on 1 May last year specifically to discuss air quality. There has also been correspondence between them on this issue.
	In addition, DEFRA air quality officials are in regular contact with officials at the Greater London Authority.

Bees

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy of the findings of the European Commission's Epilobee Study, published on 2 April 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA has received a copy of the report on the findings of the Epilobee Study and is considering its content.
	We take the issue of honeybee health seriously. We have a long-established bee health programme, which includes inspection of colonies, diagnosis of bee pests and diseases, and training for beekeepers. Bee health forms a key part of the National Pollinator Strategy, which is currently out for consultation.

Bees: Pesticides

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what studies the Government has (a) conducted and (b) commissioned on the effects of pesticides on honeybee mortality.

Dan Rogerson: Pesticides are authorised for sale and use only if effects on non-target species, including honeybees, are not unacceptable.
	The Government has, over a number of years, commissioned broader research on the effects of pesticides on honeybees. Details of all DEFRA research can be found at:
	http://randd.defra.gov.uk/
	Current DEFRA research projects include:
	PS2370 Interpretation of pesticide residues in honeybees
	PS2374 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) of the effects of pesticides on foraging bees
	PS2376 Evaluation of procedures to improve estimates of exposure of pollinators to neonicotinoid insecticides
	In addition, one of the nine projects being carried out under the Insect Pollinators Initiative (which is part-funded by DEFRA) is ‘An investigation into the synergistic impact of sub-lethal exposure to industrial chemicals on the learning capacity and performance of bees’.
	Research needs in this area are kept under active consideration.

Biodiversity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will provide citations of all the scientific literature used by his Department to establish the weightings of risk factors when establishing the metric for biodiversity offsetting.

Dan Rogerson: The current metric was developed for use in the biodiversity offsetting pilots. DEFRA published a paper at the start of the pilots describing the metric and explaining the rationale behind it. That paper is called “Biodiversity Offsetting Pilots. Technical Paper: the metric for the biodiversity offsetting pilot in England”. Pages 18-19 include the list of references
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/biodiversity/offsetting/documents/110714offsetting-technical-metric.pdf
	The time multiplier reflects HM Treasury “Green Book” guidance.

Coastal Erosion

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to review the integrity of the coastline following recent severe weather; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency, assisted by the military, is undertaking a review of coastal flood defences after the recent weather events. The results of this review will inform the Environment Agency’s priorities for the near future.

Coastal Erosion

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to protect the (a) UK coastline and (b) Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs and Peacehaven stretch of coastline from erosion; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has had strategic overview of coastal erosion risk management in England since 2008. Under this overview the Environment Agency oversees the development, monitoring, delivery and reporting of Shoreline Management Plans and associated coastal strategies for the whole coastline of England and Wales. This sets out how coastal erosion will be managed sustainably in the long term.
	Lewes district council and Brighton and Hove city council are developing a long-term plan to manage erosion risk along the frontage from Beachy Head to Selsey Bill. This is to be completed this year. It will evaluate the most sustainable options to maintain the coastline over the next 100 years and assess the economic viability of replacing the existing defences when required. The plan has been funded by £104,000 of flood and coastal erosion risk management grant in aid.

Conifers

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to increase the planting of conifers.

Dan Rogerson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Sandra Osborne) on 10 March 2014, Official Report, column 75W.

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the amount spent per person on flood defences in (a) England and (b) Wales in each year since 2001 to date; and what estimate he has made of the amounts in each year to 2016.

Dan Rogerson: The figures are as follows:
	(a) Average DEFRA spend per head on flood and coastal erosion risk management in England.
	
		
			  £ 
			 2005-06 9.51 
			 2006-07 9.47 
			 2007-08 9.34 
			 2008-09 10.61 
			 2009-10 11.83 
			 2010-11 12.53 
			 2011-12 10.71 
			 2012-13 10.77 
			 2013-14 11.34 
			 2014-15 14.86 
			 Notes: 1. The figures for each year is the total DEFRA spend on flood and coastal erosion risk management divided by the most recent ONS population estimate for mid 2012. 2. Figures before 2005-06 are not available in a comparable format. 3. Figures for 2013-14 and 2014-15 are budget allocations. 4. Figures for 2015-16 are not available as the budget has not yet been set. 
		
	
	(b) Flood management in Wales is a devolved matter and DEFRA has made no estimate of the amount spent per person.

Forests

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance his Department gives the private sector on steps to increase the area of woodland with a current UK Forestry Service compliant management plan.

Dan Rogerson: Forestry is a devolved issue. UK Forestry Standard compliant management plans are a matter for the devolved Administrations.
	In England, the Forestry Commission, with input from the private sector, has recently published new management plan templates with accompanying guidance. This delivers the commitment in the Government’s response to the report by the Forestry Regulation Task Force to develop a series of UK Forestry Standard compliant management plan templates for a range of forest types.
	Grant funding is available through the English Woodland Grant Scheme to support the production of woodland management plans and similar support is planned as part of the next Rural Development Programme. In the next programme an approved UK Forestry Standard compliant management plan will be a prerequisite for further woodland grant support.

Forests

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recommendations have been made to him by the Natural Capital Committee on the ecosystem services provided by woodland.

Dan Rogerson: The Natural Capital Committee’s (NCC) second report to the Government’s Economic Affairs Committee was published on 11 March. The report does not make specific recommendations that only apply explicitly to woodland. It does, however, use woodland-based examples to illustrate a number of opportunities to enhance ecosystem service values. A copy of the report is available at:
	http://www.naturalcapitalcommittee.org/
	The Government plans to respond to the NCC’s recommendations in summer 2014.
	In 2012, the NCC published its principles for guiding decision making regarding forestry in the UK in response to recommendations made by the Independent Panel on Forestry report. The NCC’s response is available at:
	http://www.naturalcapitalcommittee.org/advice.html

Forests

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans that the commercial timber manufacturing sector will be represented on the proposed public forest trustee body.

Dan Rogerson: In January this year, we set out a list of ten core principles for the new body, including that it would be managed by experts and have access to the best advice. We intend that the commercial timber manufacturing sector should be represented in the arrangements, giving effect to this commitment.

Forests

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made towards the creation of a new public forest trustee body as proposed in the Government’s Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement 2013.

Dan Rogerson: The Government is making good progress in developing plans for the new, operationally independent public body to manage the public forest estate, as announced in the Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement, published in January 2013. DEFRA and the Forestry Commission have worked closely with a wide range of stakeholders in designing the features of the new body. Subject to parliamentary time, the Government intends to legislate at the earliest opportunity.

Forests

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made on developing an ecosystem valuation approach.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA and HM Treasury produced new Green Book supplementary guidance in 2012 on how to account for nature’s value at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/191500/Accounting_for_ enviornomental_impacts.pdf
	This supplementary guidance covers the practical application of techniques for valuing environmental impacts in policy appraisal. It applies to all programmes, policies and projects. An important recommendation in this guidance is the use of the ecosystem services framework.
	DEFRA is also supporting independent research on developing further our understanding of nature’s economic and social value through the National Ecosystem Assessment Follow-On Project (NEAFO), which will report later this year.

Livestock: Transport

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts regarding the live export of animals; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The EU Commission's approach is focused on better enforcement of existing European rules on the welfare of animals during transport, rather than making any substantive change to legislation. I have not held any discussions with my EU counterparts on this strategy.

Timber

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made on the development of the Grown in Britain certification scheme for timber products.

Dan Rogerson: The Government supports and is very encouraged by the Grown in Britain initiative, which is working to maximise the long-term benefits that our woodlands can bring to the environment, social well-being and the economy. As Grown in Britain is a sector-led initiative, the Government is not responsible for the development of the brand licensing system that will be applied to timber products produced by Grown in Britain commercial partners.

JUSTICE

Coroners

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether police reports to coroners' inquests are available to the connected parties; what the cost is of supplying such reports; and if he will make a statement.

Shailesh Vara: Rules 12 to 15 of the Coroners (Inquests) Rules 2013:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1616/contents/made
	provide for a coroner, on request, to disclose relevant documents to ‘interested persons’ in the coroner’s investigation, subject to specified restrictions. This may include reports that police provide to the coroner.
	Rule 16 of the Rules provides that a coroner may not charge a fee for any document disclosed before or during an inquest. Regulation 12 of the Coroners Allowances, Fees and Expenses Regulations 2013:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1615/contents/made
	sets out the fees that coroners may charge for disclosure after an inquest.
	We do not have operational responsibility for coroners so do not hold data on the costs to coroners of supplying documents and there would be disproportionate costs for both MOJ and coroners in obtaining it. This is because we would need to approach each coroner to ask them to investigate and advise MOJ of the costs to them of disclosing police reports to interested persons.
	The Rules minimise disclosure costs for coroners by providing for electronic disclosure where appropriate, and for a coroner to disclose a bundle of relevant documents together, where this is more efficient. Paragraphs 117 to 126 of the Chief Coroner’s Guide to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009:
	http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/coroners/guidance/chief-coroners-guide-to-act-sept2013.pdf
	explain this in more detail.
	The coroner provisions in the 2009 Act were implemented in July 2013 and we have undertaken to review their impact after 18 months.

Courts

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of (a) magistrates' courts, (b) County courts and (c) County Court money claims centres use higher-rate telephone numbers.

Shailesh Vara: The information held centrally on how many and what proportion of (a) magistrates courts, (b) County courts and (c) County Court money claims centres use higher-rate telephone numbers is as follows:
	(a) Magistrates courts—33 out of 330 courts
	(b) County Courts—17 out of 216 courts
	(c) The County Court Bulk Centre in Northampton which centrally manages money claims, also uses higher rate telephone numbers.
	Some of the individual numbers are used for more than one court.
	As stated in previous answers to parliamentary questions, the Department's approach is not to use 084 or 087 for non-geographic numbers and instead, wherever possible, to assign 0300 numbers, for which the tariff is similar to calling an 01 or 02 (geographic) number, whether the caller is using a fixed line or a mobile phone—see:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130423/text/130423w0004.htm#130423w0004. htm_wqn27
	and
	http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?ids2013-11-20a.175002.h&s=Vaz+0845#g175002.q0
	The number of 08 numbers used by the Department has fallen by 55% since December 2009.

Employment Tribunals Service: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunals in Scotland have been processed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service in each year since 2010.

Shailesh Vara: The Government is committed to working across the employment law (including the employment dispute resolution) system to help to make it easier for companies to hire and manage staff, while protecting workers' rights. This encourages employers to create new jobs, supporting enterprise and growth.
	Workload before the employment tribunals is affected by several factors, including underlying economic performance trends, the impacts of reforms of employment legislation and tribunals process, and the number of collective disputes (for example involving insolvencies, and equal pay complaints) that lead to large-scale multiple claims.
	The number of claims accepted by employment tribunals and processed by HMCTS in each calendar year, since 2010, is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Employment tribunal claims accepted in Scotland for calendar years 2010 to 2013, inclusive 
			 Calendar year Number of claims accepted 
			 2010 18,795 
			 2011 16,670 
			 2012 12,533 
			 2013 7,506 
			 Source: ET Database.

Insurance: Fraud

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the number of victims of personal injury insurance fraud in the last year for which information is available.

Shailesh Vara: No figures are available for the number of victims of, or for the average loss incurred from, personal injury fraud. Across all forms of insurance the ABI estimates that fraud adds, on average, an extra £50 a year to the annual insurance bill for every UK policyholder.
	However, we have already seen a fall in premiums paid by motorists following the implementation of Government reforms in April 2013. The latest ABI quarterly index shows a 9% drop in actual premiums paid in the last year. The Government fully expects insurers to continue to meet their commitment to pass on the savings from these and other reforms to consumers.
	The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end we are working closely with stakeholders across the industry to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.
	No estimate is available of any cost savings that might accrue from clarifying the courts' powers to strike out claims that are exaggerated or fabricated. However, we are considering what reform might be appropriate to the law in this area.

Insurance: Fraud

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  if his Department will estimate the savings in reduced litigation costs that might accrue from a reform of civil procedure rules to clarify the courts' powers to strike out cases on a basis that personal injury claims were exaggerated or fabricated; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the average loss incurred by victims of insurance fraud in the last year for which information is available.

Shailesh Vara: No figures are available for the number of victims of, or for the average loss incurred from, personal injury fraud. Across all forms of insurance the ABI estimates that fraud adds, on average, an extra £50 a year to the annual insurance bill for every UK policyholder.
	However, we have already seen a fall in premiums paid by motorists following the implementation of Government reforms in April 2013. The latest ABI quarterly index shows a 9% drop in actual premiums paid in the last year. The Government fully expects insurers to continue to meet their commitment to pass on the savings from these and other reforms to consumers.
	The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end we are working closely with stakeholders across the industry to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.
	No estimate is available of any cost savings that might accrue from clarifying the courts’ powers to strike out claims that are exaggerated or fabricated. However, we are considering what reform might be appropriate to the law in this area.

Insurance: Fraud

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  if he will adopt the Law Commission's proposal in its 12th programme of law reform on fraud by victims of personal injury;
	(2)  what progress his Department has made on potential measures to discourage personal injury claimants from exaggerating or fabricating losses over and above genuine elements; and if he will make a statement.

Shailesh Vara: The Government is committed to reducing the number of fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end, it is considering what specific reforms might be appropriate, including whether the Law Commission should be asked to consider the issue.
	As announced last year, we are working with stakeholders in the industry to tighten the medical evidence process so that only evidence from accredited experts can be considered, and the costs for those reports can be fixed. This will mean people can no longer profit from exaggerated or fraudulent compensation claims but victims with genuine cases can still get the help they deserve. We are introducing these reforms later in the year. We are also working to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many appeals against jobseeker’s allowance decisions went to tribunal between (a) 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013 and (b) 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014;
	(2)  what proportion of jobseeker’s allowance appeals were represented at tribunal between (a) 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013 and (b) 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014; and what proportion of such claimants were successful.

Shailesh Vara: The first-tier tribunal—social security and child support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits including jobseeker’s allowance (JSA).
	The following table shows (i) the proportion of appeals against JSA which were represented and (ii) the proportion of those appeals which were found in favour of the appellant for the period (a) 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 and (b) 1 April to 31 December 2013 (the latest period for which figures have been published).
	
		
			 Jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) appeals 
			  April 2012 to March 2013 April to December 2013 
			 Number of JSA appeals disposed of at tribunal hearing1 33,976 32,635 
			 Proportion attended by representative2 (%) 2 3 
			 Proportion attended by representative where the decision is in favour of the appellant (%) 60 64 
			 1 Includes oral and paper hearings. 2 Oral appeal hearings attended by a representative. 
		
	
	A combination of reasons can lead to a decision being overturned on appeal. For example, a hearing may generate additional evidence, in particular oral evidence provided by the appellant at the hearing.
	Information on appeals received by the tribunal against decisions made about claims for JSA is published by the Ministry of Justice in Tribunals Statistics Quarterly. The most recent report, which includes the number of appeals received in the periods (a) 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 and (b) 1 April to 31 December 2013, can be viewed at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/289342/tribunal-stats-oct-dec-2013.pdf

Magistrates Courts

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he next plans to review the number of magistrates courts operating in England.

Shailesh Vara: HM Courts and Tribunals Service continues to keep the number of magistrates courts under review, as with the wider estate, to ensure it meets operational requirements.

Non-molestation Orders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 95W, on non-molestation orders, what the figure for previous convictions or cautions is for (a) male and (b) female offenders.

Jeremy Wright: The following additional break down has been provided in addition to PQ 192243.
	Male offenders receiving their first immediate custodial sentence for the criminal offence of breaching a non-molestation order in the 12 months ending September 2013 had received, on average, less than 1 (0.5) previous convictions or cautions for the same offence.
	In the 12 months ending September 2013, nine females received their first immediate custodial sentence for breach of non-molestation order, of which six had no previous, one had one previous and two had two or more previous convictions or cautions for the same offence. Averages have not been provided for female offenders breaching a non-molestation order as the number of females is too small to provide a reliable estimate.
	It is important to note that these figures are based only on those offences recorded on the police national computer (PNC) by an English or Welsh police force, including the British transport police. This database holds details of all convictions or cautions for breaching a non-molestation order since their introduction as a criminal offence in July 2007.

Oakwood Prison

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what discussions he or his officials have had with the management of HM Prison Oakwood about staffing levels at that prison;
	(2)  what the expected additional cost is in 2014-15 of the increased staffing levels agreed for HM Prison Oakwood;
	(3)  what increase in staffing levels at HM Prison Oakwood his Department has agreed with G4S.

Jeremy Wright: Staffing levels at HMP Oakwood are regularly reviewed by both the Ministry of Justice and G4S. There are currently no plans to increase staffing levels at HMP Oakwood.

Offensive Weapons

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged (a) under 18 years old and (b) 18 years and over were (i) prosecuted and (ii) received a custodial sentence for carrying a bladed or pointed article in a public place in each year since 2008.

Jeremy Wright: Since 2009 there has been an overall decline in knife crime. A higher proportion of people are going to prison for knife possession than in previous years and sentences are getting longer. However we continue to keep this area of the law under close scrutiny. We recently made it clear that cautions should no longer be used for knife possession offences for adults and are currently exploring wider changes to how we tackle knife offences.
	Table 1 illustrates the number of juveniles proceeded against at magistrates court, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating to having an article with blade or point in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2012.
	Table 2 illustrates the number of adults proceeded against at magistrates court, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating to having an article with blade or point, in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2012.
	It is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with.
	Data detailing the number of people aged (a) under 18 and (b)18 and over, who were (i) convicted (ii) and received a custodial sentence for carrying a bladed or pointed article in a public place in each year since 2008 can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly-brief-october-2013-december-2013
	The figures provided have been drawn from an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Department. The PNC holds details of all convictions and cautions given for recordable offences committed in England and Wales. In addition, as with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	The Department also records number of prosecutions and custodial sentences for this particular offence which can be viewed in the following tables.
	
		
			 Table 1: Juveniles proceeded against at magistrates court, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating to having an article with blade or point, England and Wales,2002-121,2,3 
			 Offence Outcome 20084 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Having an article with blade or point in public place Proceeded against 1,354 1,436 1,219 1,141 935 
			  Immediate custody 100 111 77 77 59 
			        
			 Having an article with blade or point on school premises Proceeded against 75 104 93 82 81 
			  Immediate custody 0 0 3 1 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Adults proceeded against at magistrates court, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating to having an article with blade or point, England and Wales, 2002-121,2,3,5 
			 Offence Outcome 20084 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Having an article with blade or point in public place Proceeded against 6,112 7,696 6,753 6,646 5,669 
			  Immediate custody 1,273 1,560 1,326 1,501 1,264 
			        
			 Having an article with blade or point on school prenises Proceed against 6 6 14 9 6 
			  Immediate custody 4 4 7 6 3 
			 1 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 The number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown court, may be sentenced in the following year. 4 Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. 5 Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  if he will take steps to reform civil procedure rules to clarify courts' powers to strike out cases due to exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the effect on insurance premiums of personal injury insurance fraud in the last year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many insurance fraud cases were struck out due to exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims in the last year for which figures are available;
	(4)  if he will take steps to reform civil procedure rules in a similar manner to the Republic of Ireland's Civil Liabilities and Court Act 2004 to tackle third party insurance fraud;
	(5)  if he will make resources available for a project by the Law Commission investigating the question of fraud by victims of personal injury;
	(6)  what estimate his Department has made of the scale of (a) detected and (b) undetected insurance fraud in the last year for which figures are available;
	(7)  if he will request that the Law Commission undertake a law reform project on the question of fraud victims of personal injury as part of its 12 programme of law reform.

Shailesh Vara: The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end, it is considering what specific reforms might be appropriate, including whether the Law Commission should be asked to consider this issue. We will make our conclusions known in due course.
	No figures are available on the number of exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims struck out by the courts. Figures for 2011 published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate that whiplash claims cost customers more than £2 billion a year and add £90 to the average motor insurance premium.
	The ABI describe 7% of all motor claims in 2011—worth £441 million—as fraudulent. In addition, they estimate that a further £1 billion of motor insurance fraud went undetected in 2011.
	As announced last year, we are working with stakeholders in the industry to tighten the medical evidence process so that only evidence from accredited experts can be considered, and the costs for those reports can be fixed. This will mean people can no longer profit from exaggerated or fraudulent compensation claims but victims with genuine cases can still get the help they deserve. We are introducing these reforms later in the year. We are also working to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.

Prison Accommodation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) operational capacities and (b) certified normal accommodations were of each privately run prison with which a contract for additional places has been signed since January 2014.

Jeremy Wright: The privately operated prisons at which additional places have been purchased since January 2014 are listed as follows:
	Altcourse
	Dovegate
	Forest Bank
	Lowdham Grange
	Parc
	Peterborough
	Individual prison population and capacity information is published monthly on the Government website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-population-figures-2014
	Population and capacity figures for March 2014 will be published on the Government website on 11 April.

Prisoners' Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the highest number of hours spent on temporary release in a week by a prisoner was in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  on how many occasions a prisoner did not spend at least one period of 24 consecutive hours in prison in a week in each of the last three years;
	(3)  how many prisoners were released on temporary licence for (a) up to 12 hours, (b) 12 to 24 hours and (c) over 24 hours in a week in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: Prisoners may be released on temporary licence for reasons linked to their resettlement needs and sentence plans, or where there are compelling circumstances that justify the release. Last month, we announced a range of measures to strengthen the existing temporary release provisions to ensure that the right balance is always struck between facilitating resettlement and protecting the public. Under our plans, public protection will always take priority.
	Data on the number of hours for which prisoners are released on temporary licence is not collated centrally.
	Data on temporary releases in 2012 is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statistical-notice-releases-on-temporary-licence-2012

Prisoners: Publications

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reason the rules governing the provision of books to prisoners have recently been changed.

Jeremy Wright: Up to 12 books may be held by prisoners in their cell at any one time. Prisoners may have additional books stored locally at the prison. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access.
	Ministers have not made any policy changes specifically about the availability of books in prisons. The changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges national policy framework we introduced last year in relation to parcels were introduced to ensure consistency across the estate and to make sure that security can be maintained. There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.
	The National Offender Management Service works closely with the Shannon Trust to support schemes such as ‘Toe by Toe’, which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.

Prisoners: Religion

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether prisoners are subject to different conditions depending on their religion.

Jeremy Wright: All prisoners are held in accommodation/conditions appropriate to their individual categorisation and the assessed rehabilitation needs.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in England and Wales originate from countries that are signed up to the EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement.

Jeremy Wright: The EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement (Council Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA) entered into force on 5 December 2011.
	To date 18 member states (including the United Kingdom) have implemented the Agreement. The number of foreign nationals in prison from these countries (as of 31 December 2013) is set out in the table.
	Transfer under the EUPTA requires a deportation order and prisoners must have at least six months left to serve when transferred. Many shorter sentenced EU prisoners will therefore not be in scope for transfer.
	
		
			  Total Of which sentenced 
			 Foreign nationals from EU countries that have implemented the EUPTA1 2,307 1,422 
			 Poland 938 553 
			 1 Includes Poland. Poland has implemented but has derogation from accepting compulsory prisoner transfers under the EU Prisoner Transfer Arrangement (PTA) until December 2016. 
		
	
	Use of the EUPTA remains at an early stage, but we expect to see a significant increase in the number of prisoner transferred once the Agreement has been implemented by all member states.
	All foreign national offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.
	The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing foreign national offenders. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed 237 FNOs to date.
	Whereas this Government has begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many assaults there were against prison officers in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013.

Jeremy Wright: NOMS takes the issue of assaults on prison staff very seriously. It currently has systems in place to deal with perpetrators quickly and robustly, with serious incidents referred to the police for prosecution. It is working with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that prisoners who assault staff are charged and punished appropriately.
	NOMS is committed to exploring options to continue to improve how violence is tackled in prisons to keep both staff and prisoners safe. It is currently reviewing the policy and practice of the management of violence.
	The number of prisoner on prison officers assault incidents in each year are provided in table 3.8 of the supplementary tables on assaults that accompany each Safety in Custody statistics bulletin. The latest publication can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-in-custody
	Figures for the number of these incidents that are reported on the centralised administrative system as being referred to the police in each year are provided in table 1. These figures do not represent individuals as there may be multiple assailants in some incidents. How many of these resulted in charges or conviction can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of prisoner on officer assault incidents referred to the police 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 Prisoner on officer assaults referred to police 374 393 543

Prisons: Postal Services

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) items of post were received by prisoners and (b) items of contraband was found in prisoners’ post in each of the last four years.

Jeremy Wright: Prisons employ a range of measures to detect, disrupt and deter the trafficking of unauthorised items into prisons.
	The number of individual items of post sent to prisoners is not recorded by prison establishments. Finds of contraband are recorded on a central incident reporting system as either a drug-related incident or a miscellaneous incident. In order to establish the number and type of contraband found in post received by prisoners, in each of the last four years, would require the interrogation of over 62,000 individual electronic incident files. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Postal Services

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what types of contraband were found in items of post received by prisoners in each of the last four years.

Jeremy Wright: Prisons employ a range of measures to detect, disrupt and deter the trafficking of unauthorised items into prisons.
	The number of individual items of post sent to prisoners is not recorded by prison establishments. Finds of contraband are recorded on a central incident reporting system as either a drug-related incident or a miscellaneous incident. In order to establish the number and type of contraband found in post received by prisoners, in each of the last four years, would require the interrogation of over 62,000 individual electronic incident files. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Remand in Custody

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many (a) men and (b) women were refused bail and remanded in custody where the allegation related to (i) an offence against the person, (ii) a public order offence and (iii) a harassment offence in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many (a) men and (b) women were refused bail and remanded in custody where the alleged offence related to an incident involving domestic violence in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: The number of men and women remanded in custody at magistrates courts and the Crown courts for offences of violence against the person, public order offences and harassment offences, for 2012 (latest available) can be viewed in the tables. The proportion remanded in custody has remained broadly constant in recent years.
	The MoJ Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought, but not all the specific circumstances of each case. This centrally-held information does not allow us to separately identify which offences proceeded against were related to domestic violence. This information is not reported to Justice Statistics Analytical Services in MoJ owing to its size and complexity, and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Table 1: Defendants1 proceeded against at magistrates courts, by remand status, offence group and sex, England and Wales, 20122 
			 Offence group Remand status Male Female 
			 Violence against the person3 Custody4 6,867 401 
			 Public order offences3 Custody4 1,508 112 
			 Harassment offences5 Custody4 2,060 78 
			 Note: Magistrates courts data for 2012 are estimated. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Defendants1 appearing at the Crown court, by remand status, offence group and sex, England and Wales, 20122 
			 Offence group Remand status Male Female 
			 Violence against the person3 Custody4 6,975 476 
			 Public order offences3 Custody4 1,628 74 
			 Harassment offences5 Custody4 534 14 
			 1 Defendants in Table 1 may also be counted in Table 2 if they were committed for trial or committed for sentence at the Crown court. Defendants in Table 2 may also be counted in Table 1. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Based on new Office for National Statistics (ONS) crime classifications. For further detail see: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/crime-statistics-methodology/presentational-changes-on-police-recorded-crime-in-england-and-wales.pdf 4 Includes those remanded in custody at any stage of proceedings at the relevant court who may also have been given bail at some stage of those proceedings. 5 Includes offences under S.2, S.2A(1), S.3, S.4, S.4A(1 )(a)(b)(i), S.4A(1)(a)(b)(ii), S.5, SS.5A(2) & 5(5) & (6) of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, and S.31(1)(b) & (4), S.31(1)(c) & (4) of the Crime & Disorder Act 1998, and S.42Aof the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners being held in prisons in England and Wales are serving sentences passed in jurisdictions outside England and Wales.

Jeremy Wright: As at 31 December 2013, 231 prisoners held in prisons in England and Wales were serving sentences imposed in jurisdictions outside England and Wales. This includes 125 who were convicted overseas, for example in Thailand, Panama and Venezuela, and 106 who were convicted in another UK jurisdiction or the Islands (Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle Man).
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Taxation: Appeals

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) first-tier and (b) upper-tier tax tribunal (i) judges and (ii) expert panel members there were as of April 2014; for how many days (A) first-tier and (B) upper-tier tax tribunal panel members sat in 2013-14; and how much was paid to tax tribunal panel members in 2013-14.

Shailesh Vara: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, columns 491-92W, which contain the most up-to-date information on judicial numbers. Data for later periods will be contained in the next publication of the data on total numbers of the judiciary and their background.
	For the period April 2013 to December 2013, panel members sat in the first-tier tribunal tax chamber for a total of 964.50 days. Members do not sit on tax cases in the upper tribunal1.
	In the financial year 2013-14, judicial expenditure for all fee-paid judicial office holders within the tax jurisdiction was £1.8 million2.
	1 This figure is taken from internal management information and as such has not been quality checked to the same level as official statistics.
	2 This figure is still subject to internal audit processes and will be incorporated into overall judicial spend figures in the HMCTS annual report and accounts which will be published later this year.

Verne Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what funds his Department has spent on preparing HM Prison the Verne for re-role as an immigration detention centre to date.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has not spent any additional money to date in preparing HM Prison The Verne to hold immigration detainees. However, the Home Office has funded infrastructure changes to make the site suitable for holding immigration detainees. These changes have allowed for early and cost-efficient preparation for its change of use while continuing to allow The Verne to operate as a prison.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 293W, on prisons: mother and baby units, what the reasons were for the time taken to provide a substantive answer day to the named day question tabled for answer on 10 February 2014.

Jeremy Wright: Officials in the Ministry of Justice have looked into the issue you have raised and we can confirm that the reason the above answer was delayed was due to an administrative error.
	I apologise for this delay.

EDUCATION

Children: Autism

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve the education of children with pathological demand avoidance.

Edward Timpson: The reforms made in Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 will improve education for all pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). These reforms will ensure that there is a focus on identifying the individual needs and aspirations of children and young people with the full involvement of their families. The Act requires joint planning and commissioning of services across education, health and social care, so that these needs can be met more effectively.
	The National Autistic Society acknowledges that pathological demand avoidance is increasingly becoming recognised as part of the autism spectrum. The Department for Education continues to fund the Autism Education Trust to provide training to early years, school and further education staff on autism. We also provide grant funding to organisations including Ambitious about Autism and the National Autistic Society in order to support implementation of the reforms.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 221W, how many three and four year olds in each parliamentary constituency are accessing the free early years entitlement outside of reception classes.

Elizabeth Truss: The information is provided in a table which will be placed in the Library of the House.

Children: Day Care

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average cost of child care for a three-year-old in England has been in each year since 2005.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education uses cost information from a number of independent surveys. The Family and Childcare Trust (formerly the Daycare Trust) has published a child care costs survey annually since 2002. Survey information is available on:
	http://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/childcare-costs-surveys
	or by contacting the Family and Childcare Trust. Their findings on the costs of child care for children aged two and over in England since 2005 are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Cost of 50 hours care for nursery, 2005-09 
			 Family and Childcare Trust Survey Weekly hours of child care Nursery1 (£) 
			 2005 50 132.00 
			 2006 50 135.00 
			 2007 50 140.00 
			 2008 50 149.00 
			 2009 50 156.00 
			 1 Two and over. 
		
	
	From the 2010 survey onwards, the hours of weekly child care used in the cost survey was changed from 50 hours a week to 25 hours a week. This was because the trust believed that the lower figure was a more accurate reflection of typical child care usage.
	
		
			 Cost of 25 hours care for nursery, 2010-14 
			 Family and Childcare Trust Survey Weekly hours of child care Nursery1 (£) 
			 2010 25 82.00 
			 2011 25 94.00 
			 2012 25 98.75 
			 2013 25 106.52 
			 2014 25 106.19 
			 1 Two and over.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether recommendations from the Independent Experts Panel on Serious Case Reviews to Local Safeguarding Children's Boards are advisory.

Edward Timpson: ‘Working Together' states that local safeguarding children boards:
	“should have regard to the panel's advice when deciding whether or not to initiate a serious case review (SCR), when appointing reviewers and when considering publication of SCR reports.”

Children: Social Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which children's services departments have instituted the role of Principal Social Worker; and how many people each such department employs.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not hold this information. Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of social workers, including those they appoint to the Principal Social Worker role.

Children's Centres

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what plans he has in place to support children’s centres that wish to move towards a co-operative model following their proposed closure;
	(2)  if he will provide funding for the transition of children’s centres to new structures;
	(3)  what steps he has taken to ensure the quality of service provided by co-operative model children’s centres;
	(4)  what steps he has taken to develop the capacity and knowledge of parents and staff who volunteer to take on the running of their children’s centre.

Elizabeth Truss: The Cabinet Office’s Mutuals Support Programme provides support to public sector workers who want to turn their service into a mutual. This can include children’s centres and co-operative forms of organisation. Further information is available through the Mutuals Information Service website at:
	http://mutuals.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
	The Department for Communities and Local Government recently announced a Transformation Challenge Award to help councils transform the way they run local services to put the user first. The Department for Education has funded work to support and encourage groups of parents, families and community members to develop their own community management models for children’s centres.
	All designated children’s centres including those provided by co-operative model, are inspected by Ofsted.

Families: Advisory Services

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of (a) mothers and (b) fathers with children under two years of age in each of the pilot areas have taken up subsidised relationship support between April 2012 and March 2014; whether this support was face-to-face or online; how much the support cost parents; what the subsidy cost the Government; how much of the £1 million funding has been used; and if he will break down the costs of the scheme by subheading.

Edward Timpson: Some £400,000 was spent out of a budget of £1.1 million.
	The remaining information which is available is published in the Evaluation report and can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/262849/DFE-_RR311.pdf

Free Schools

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will rank each English local authority by the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary free schools to have received approval; and what this represents as a proportion of the estimated school-age population.

Edward Timpson: The published list of successful applications to open a free school and of free schools already opened or in the pre-opening stage, which includes which local authority they are in, is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-schools-successful-applications-and-open-schools-2014
	The total number of places in these schools when at full capacity will be around 2% of the total number of children currently educated in state-funded schools in England.
	The number of places in approved free schools is published online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/successful-free-school-proposals-announced
	The total school population is published in the 'schools, pupils and their characteristics' statistical first release and is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013

Further Education

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will visit further education colleges to discuss the effect of his proposed 17.5 per cent reduction from September for funding for 18-year-olds in full-time education.

Elizabeth Truss: I have received a large number of invitations to discuss this topic and sadly cannot accept nearly as many as I would like to.
	Nevertheless, I have listened to the views of the hon. and right hon. Members, as well as those of colleges and other providers of 16 to 19 education. I am pleased that we have been able to afford to mitigate the impact of the funding reduction on 18-year-olds in the academic year 2014/15. We will cap any losses in relation to this at 2% of the funding that an institution receives for the education of 16 to 19-year-olds.
	However, the overriding need to tackle the budget deficit remains, and so the full funding reduction for 18-year-olds will still be necessary in 2015/16. We have carried out and published an impact assessment, which is available online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-reduction-for-18-year-olds-impact-assessment

Further Education

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on career colleges.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government's policy for career colleges is the same as for any other further education college that enrols 14 to 16-year-olds. The Education Funding Agency first needs to grant permission for the college to enrol 14 to 16-year-olds, and permission is restricted to colleges with a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating.
	The proposals set out by the Career College Trust, an independent charity, take advantage of the flexibilities and freedoms of the funding reforms introduced by this Government to provide an alternative approach to offering high quality academic and vocational education from age 14.
	I await with interest developments in career colleges and other innovative schemes for 14-19 provision, which have arisen as a result of the Government's vocational education reforms.

Further Education: Ethnic Groups

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed 17.5 per cent reduction in funding for full-time education on 18-year-olds from ethnic minorities who (a) have poor prior attainment and (b) speak English as an additional language.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has published an impact assessment, which is available online:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-reduction-for-18-year-olds-impact-assessment
	The impact assessment looked at the proportion of 18-year-old black and minority ethnic (BME) students in full-time education who attract a funding uplift for disadvantage based on the level of deprivation of their home postcode, compared with the proportion of all 16 to 18-year-old BME students. It shows that 18-year-old BME students in full-time education are not more likely to be from disadvantaged areas than 16 to 18-year-old BME students as a whole.
	I am pleased that we have been able to afford to mitigate the impact of the funding reduction on 18-year-olds in the academic year 2014/15. We will cap any losses in relation to this at 2% of the funding that an institution receives for the education of 16 to 19-year-olds.

Jimmy Savile

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which local authorities are involved in investigations of historic abuse by Jimmy Savile; and when he expects the resulting reports to be published.

Edward Timpson: As published in the written statement made by the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), on 27 March 2014, the following local authorities are involved in investigations of historical abuse by Jimmy Savile:
	Bournemouth;
	Devon;
	Gloucestershire;
	Leeds;
	London borough of Hounslow;
	London borough of Islington;
	London borough of Southwark;
	London borough of Tower Hamlets;
	Manchester;
	Nottingham;
	Nottinghamshire, and
	Surrey.
	The investigations will be completed at the earliest opportunity, but not before the independent quality assurers are satisfied that they have been full and thorough.

Julian Le Grand

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what contractual arrangements his Department has with Professor Julian Le Grand; and how much he has been paid.

Elizabeth Truss: In March 2013, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), appointed Professor Julian Le Grand as chair of a panel undertaking a review of Doncaster Children's Services, as announced in a letter dated 25 March 2013 to the then Mayor of Doncaster, Peter Davies. The letter is published on the Department's website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/doncaster-childrens-care-direction-for-improvement-march-2013
	Professor Le Grand submitted his report to Ministers in May 2013. Professor Le Grand was subsequently asked by the Minister for Children and Families, the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mr Timpson) to chair another panel to consider ways forward for Birmingham's Children's Social Care Services, as announced in a letter to the leader of Birmingham council, Albert Bore, on 29 November 2013. The letter is also published on the Department's website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/edward-timpson-writes-to-birmingham-city-council
	The Report of this work was submitted to Ministers in February 2014.
	Professor Le Grand received no remuneration for his work on either review. The Department for Education met reasonable travel, accommodation and other expenses for Professor Le Grand which were wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in relation to this work in accordance with the Department's policies.

Pre-school Education

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many early years providers with exemptions from the early years foundation stage are funded to provide early education places to two, three and four-year-olds.

Elizabeth Truss: According to the information that the Department for Education holds, we are aware that 43 early years providers, who have been granted full or partial exemptions from the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) framework, are in receipt of early education funding.
	Information on the exemption process for early years providers is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs-learning-and-development-requirements-guidance-on-exemptions-for-early-years-providers
	As the published information above states, to be granted an exemption, independent schools have to meet the quality threshold of ‘good’ or better judgment in the school’s most recent inspection report; meet the other conditions set in the Secretary of State’s Direction (which is to notify parents and the local authority) and notify the Department of their intention to take up the exemption.
	Providers who are governed by principles of learning and development that cannot be reconciled with the learning and development requirements of the EYFS have to submit an application to the Secretary of State, demonstrating how their principles of learning and development conflicts with the EYFS and meet the other conditions set by the Secretary of State which is to notify parents and the local authority of their intention.

Priority School Building Programme

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2014, Official Report, column 250W, on schools construction, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's non-firm, estimated dates for the start and finish of construction for each PSBP school.

David Laws: The Department for Education does not hold firm predictions for when every project will start or finish construction as time scales can shift in either direction.
	I do not believe it is appropriate to publish non-firm, estimated dates for the start and finish of construction for each Priority Schools Building Programme school.

Pupil Exclusions: Autism

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the school exclusions pilot on pupils with autism;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential role of the local offer in reducing the number of pupils with autism affected by official and unofficial exclusion.

Edward Timpson: An interim evaluation of the school exclusions pilot, published in March 2013, found early indications of schools taking more responsibility for pupils at risk of exclusion, collaborating with each other and working in partnership with local authorities to improve alternative provision in their areas. Such approaches benefit all pupils vulnerable to exclusion, including those with autism.
	The Department for Education has introduced wide ranging reforms through the Children and Families Act 2014 to improve provision and support for children and young people with special educational needs or a disability.
	The Act requires local authorities to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) or a disability. The local offer will set out in one place information about provision families can expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people who have SEN or are disabled, including those who do not have education, health and care (EHC) plans.
	The local offer will provide children, young people and parents with clear, comprehensive and accessible information about the services and support available and how to access it, including that from schools.
	It will make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving families and service providers in its development and review, enabling them to have a greater say in how services and support develop over time.
	This should therefore have an important role to play in improving outcomes and reducing exclusions for children and young people with SEN, including those with autism.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many unauthorised school absences there have been in (a) St Albans constituency, (b) Hertfordshire, (c) the East of England and (d) the UK since 2010; and what steps he is taking to reduce such absences.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education publishes statistics on England only. Information on unauthorised pupil absence in St Albans constituency has been provided in the following table. Pupil absence rates at regional and local authority level are available in the local authority tables in the absence statistical first release for each year1.
	We know from evidence that pupils who have regular attendance at school are four times more likely to achieve five or more A*-C grades at GCSE including English and maths than those pupils who are persistently absent2. This is why the Department for Education reduced the threshold at which pupils are classified as being persistently absent, from 20 to 15% of school missed. This measure enables schools to identify earlier those pupils with troubling attendance patterns, and to do something about them.
	In 2012, we increased the level of the school attendance penalty fines of £50 and £100 to £60 and £120 respectively; and in 2013 reduced the overall timescales for paying fines from 42 to 28 days. Our reforms are working. In 2012/13 persistent absence was 300,895 pupils—a fall of almost a third from 2010. 130,000 fewer pupils are now persistent absentees.
	1 https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-pupil-absence
	2 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/183445/DFE-RR171.pdf
	
		
			 State-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools1, 2, 3, 4: unauthorised absence rates5, academic years 2009/10 to 2012/13 
			 St Albans parliamentary constituency 
			  Unauthorised absence rate5 
			 2009/10 0.7 
			 2010/11 0.6 
			 2011/12 0.6 
			 2012/13 0.6 
			 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2 Includes primary academies, including free schools. 3 Includes city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. 4 Includes maintained special schools, non-maintained special schools and special academies. Excludes general hospital schools, independent special schools and independent schools approved for SEN pupils. 5 The number of sessions missed due to unauthorised absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. Source: School Census

Schools: Discipline

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent steps he has taken to integrate better into schools children with challenging behaviour; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to him on 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 257W.
	Since October, we have updated our advice on behaviour to re-emphasise the need for clear rewards and sanctions. We have outlined a range of sanctions that it is permissible for teachers to use to tackle challenging behaviour when it occurs. We have also been clear that schools should use rewards to praise and reinforce good behaviour.
	In addition, we have produced a range of case studies showing good practice in how schools manage behaviour and bullying. The case studies provide examples of what effective schools do to integrate children with challenging behaviour into the school ranging from support through schools' pastoral systems to using art and modified curricula to support the inclusion of pupils with behaviour difficulties.
	The new special educational needs (SEN) Code of Practice makes it clear that, while persistent disruptive or withdrawn behaviour does not necessarily mean that a pupil has SEN, schools should determine whether there are any causal factors, such as undiagnosed learning difficulties, difficulties with communication or mental health issues, so that support can be put in place for the pupil to stay at the school and make progress.

Social Work: Pilot Schemes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress he has made on the Social Work Practice pilots; and which local authorities are taking part in those pilots.

Edward Timpson: The Social Work Practices pilot concluded in 2012. In November last year the Government commenced Part 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 to allow all local authorities to explore new models of provision if they wish to.

Special Educational Needs

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department takes to support parents whose children attend a school in special measures; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The Government is clear that the best way forward for any school judged inadequate by Ofsted is for it to become an academy with the support of a strong sponsor. We consider that sponsored academy arrangements will safeguard the long-term future of such schools and will secure rapid and sustained improvement, which should reassure parents.

Water: Safety

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to amend the national curriculum to require the teaching of water safety in schools.

Edward Timpson: The Government is committed to ensuring that swimming and teaching water safety takes place in schools. Swimming is an important part of the National Curriculum, which requires that all pupils must be taught to swim at least 25 metres unaided, and be able to use recognised swimming strokes by the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11). It also requires that a child can demonstrate an understanding of water safety. Swimming and water safety remain compulsory in the National Curriculum following the recent curriculum review.
	In March 2013 the Prime Minister announced additional ring-fenced funding of £150 million per year for each of 2013-14 and 2014-15 to support the provision of PE and sport in primary schools. This funding was extended in the autumn statement 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 1101-1113, to include 2015-16. Qualifying schools would be free to use this to extend their pupils' access to swimming lessons and water safety awareness.